Breaking The Mirror
by Ren One
Summary: Surprise, revelations and explanations as the Prophecy is told, what it is and who it is... Massive fighting, carnage and violence. Complete! RR please. Thank you.
1. Prologue

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

"You can't be right all the time, you'll mess up sooner or later." – Unknown Source

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Prologue

The SeeD's run through the hallway, to Rinoa it seems like an endless corridor, with the door leaping further back as she reaches for it, as if to mock her. But she kicks that thought out of her mind and runs faster…

"Rinoa! Slow down!" Quistis shouts as the others up the pace to keep up. Thy eventually reach the doors. Rinoa, not bothering to open it the conventional way, rips it off it hinges with her power, tossing it over her head and the others. What she sees causes her to freeze to the spot.

Seifer stands over Squall, who is lying covered in blood. Seifer himself is bleeding too; the look on his face is one of surprise and shock. But no words are spoken as the others also assess the view. To Seifer, he knows what they are assuming, and he knows Squall should have told them…

He just hoped and prayed that they would let him explain… as they don't know what they are up against…

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Not too big I know, but I shall update soon. Thank you. Even for this, all reviews/comments will be welcome, ta. J 


	2. The Quiet Storm

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

"The quieter you are, the less people notice you are there."

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Chapter 1 – The Quiet Storm

A few months. That's all that had passed since the sorceress war. Ultimecia's defeat had brought nothing but peace to the world. Of course, there were small matters, like the monsters plaguing the world, and the odd town had to be rebuilt, but in the whole, life was calm and peaceful. Even Galbadia had somehow restored order within a short few weeks, and was living life normal.

It was this 'peace' that bothered Squall, who sat in his office in Balamb Garden. His office, which he hated, was as simple as could be, which he wanted. Sitting in his seat, Squall stared at the wall, musing to himself. Thinking was something that he did a lot, and, these days, he realised it was mainly good thoughts that occupied his mind. The number one reason for this came through the door at that moment.

"Hey, your in early" said Rinoa, walking over to where he sat and kissing him on the head.

Squall smiled, still a rarity, but pleased Rinoa none the less. "I know, though I don't know why. What's my job? To command the SeeD's. But since there's been no contracts that involve commanding a large number of SeeD's, I'm pretty much sitting here making the place look good, bored as hell."

Rinoa laughed. "Squall, you cracked a joke, as rare as your smiles." She realised he was annoyed, so she cut to the point. "But something's bothering you."

Squall looks at her, deciding not to lie, since Rinoa had an annoying habit of being able to tell when he was thinking about something not good. And he was, but he could not tell her. As much as he hated it, he had to, for hopefully the one and only time in his life, lie to her.

"I don't know exactly what's bothering me Rinoa, but if I had to put it bluntly, it's the fact that this is probably the first time ever, where I have had nothing to do. When I was a student, there was always an assignment, or a lecture, or training to do. As a SeeD, obviously the contract for you, and eventually Ultimecia, kept me busy" he sighs, "I guess I'm just not used to it."

Rinoa smiles at him. "So to put it simply, you're bored?" she laughs, Squall frowns, but says with humour in his voice, "yes, I am."

"Then come on" she says, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the seat. "Let's go."

"Go? Where?"

"A walk, get you out of this stuffy room."

Seeing no other option, as in any excuses to, he follows her.

Walking into the Quad, they see Selphie, Irvine and Quistis. Selphie walks up and hugs both of them.

"Hiya, how's things?" she asks, noticing the cheery smile on Rinoa's face, and the as-usual-stern face of Squall's. Squall ignores her, instead looking at Quistis. Quistis nods her head, and smiles. 

They spend an hour there, talking and watching Selphie fix things up for the Annual Garden Festival. Squall sits at the edge of the Quad, looking over the edge at the ocean, where Garden is hovering over, not moving. The only noises are Selphies orders and the whirr of the Gardens rotor. Quistis sits down beside him. 

"Hey, you thinking about Zell?" she asks.

Squall nods his head. Zell, it has been 2 weeks now. Squall had sent him off on a mission 2 weeks ago, to go and spy on a number of people within the new Galbadian government, after a tip-off from another SeeD. Zell, who was sent the next day, was sent with the orders to spy on them, retrieve any details and then report back.

He was only supposed to be gone a week.

He had been gone for two

He was supposed to report to Garden with intelligence every night.

He only reported back twice.

Squall, after the second day, immediately sent out another party of SeeD's to retrieve him, but they too vanished, and just yesterday, 6 bodies had been recovered near the tomb of the unknown king….

"I am, Quistis, I've been thinking about this, and I have decided to go after Zell myself."

Quistis eyes widened. "You can't. Squall, you can't you're needed here."

Squall spat. "Zell needs help, I'm not taking anything away from the SeeD's that went out there and died, since you saw the report, they died fighting. And also, the report had one other detail that you probably overlooked because you haven't said anything about it."

"What?" she asks, fearing the answer.

"Only one person killed them, and it was a sword-type weapon that was used."

Quistis simply stares in shock. "I am sorry, I didn't read it all…" she hangs her head solemnly. Squall places a hand on her shoulder. 

"It's not your fault, you have been really busy these days, and your stressed, that's why I gave you 3 weeks off, but here you are, still working."

"Well, I am second in command you know." She smiles, then quickly drops it. "Who knows about Zell?"

Squall looks at the ocean, serious. "Only you, me Cid and Xu. The others have asked, but as soon as I said 'SeeD matters' they haven't asked since, though they have joked about him being kidnapped and all that" he looks at the ground. "I don't want to think about it Quistis, but if its who I think it is, then I have to go."

"And you do realise it may be a trap" she says.

"Then where's the ransom etc? I think it's a trap too, but a damn good one. Come on, Cid told us to wait until the SeeD's were found, they have been found. Dead. Now, It's time for some serious action."

They both get up, and proceed to leave. Rinoa spots them leaving, and quickly dashes up to them. "Hey, where are you going?"

Squall turns to her. "I have to go and see Cid, Rinoa, important."

Rinoa, having been around SeeD's long enough not to question, doesn't. Instead she kisses him and says "See you later."

Squall says nothing and watches her leave, then rejoins Quistis and goes to Cid's office.

There was a lot of things going through his head, like the SeeD's who died, how they died and where Zell could possibly be.

He didn't want to think of answers.


	3. The Pieces Of The Puzzle

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

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Chapter 2 – The pieces of the puzzle

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"Every problem has a solution, no matter how crazy it is" – Col

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(Zell -?) ß (This is Zell's point of view now. Whenever this is here, I am telling the story from that persons point of view, in this case Zell's)

It was dark, that was for sure, but he didn't know what time it was. He supposed it was night-time, but the room he was in had no windows, only a door. Only a door.

He sits there in a corner; the thing that has astonished him the most about his capture is there has been no torture, no interrogation, no nothing. This is what worries Zell the most, as since he was caught, by that 'person', they have treated him as if he was staying in a hotel.

He has only had one visitor, and that was the guy who brought him food and drink. He had thought about trying to escape, but there was an armed guard standing outside his door. True, they have their back to him, but there is another guard at the other end, and he is facing Zell's cell.

He stares upward, well, he assumes upward, as it is nothing but blackness in here. He thinks about how he was captured. That guy he fought was, well, _unreal_. He had a sword, though Zell couldn't make out the make. Although this wasn't the worst thing he thought about this guy. It was the _way_ he fought with the sword. The way he held it. The way he swung it. The way he handled it.

There was more than a frightening resemblance to Squall with the way he fought.

His thoughts are interrupted as a guy opens his cell door. It isn't his food-bringer. It is a man in a suit. His features he can't make out as the light is on his back and his face is obscured. He speaks.

"Out, SeeD."

Zell, not questioning, gets up and walks to the door, the glare of the light dazzles him, then everything goes black as something small and sharp thuds into his stomach. The last thought he feels is someone carrying him…

He wakes up, he is tied to a table, and straps hold his arms and legs down. His head is still free. Raising it, he sees a huge self to his left. There is a great deal of vials and books. Some of the vials have substances in it. Zell can only think of one thing, when he spots the things next to that. Needles.

He thinks of the words 'test subject.'

Thinking it can't get worse, he looks to his right, and almost yelps out in shock, as he fixes eyes on the person lying not too far from him, also strapped down…

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(Squall/Quistis – Headmaster Cid's office)

A huge map is lying on the table in front of them as Xu prepares everything. Cid comes into the office and seats himself.

"This is serious," he says solemnly. "Zell is one of the best SeeD's we have, and he gets captured. Could there be a chance the enemy knew he was coming?"

"Possibly," says Xu, "as since he was one of the ones who destroyed Ultimecia, his name would have gained him notoriety, never mind his face. Someone somewhere may have recognised him because of his name, and described what he looked like. Not meaning to be rude, but that tattoo on his face is a dead give-away."

"Even so," says Quistis. "Like Cid says, Zell is damn good, he would not have went down with a fight, and I still say he's alive, as his body wasn't amongst the 6 we found. I said to Squall earlier that it is a trap, wanting to lure us out but-"

"I'm still going" Squall interrupts. "Sorry Quistis, but it's obvious that one of us has to go. The 'best' so to speak. Since they captured him, then this can be their chance to try to get another, but I'll make it hard for them."

"Squall," says Cid, "I don't think it's a good idea you should go-"

"You're like Quistis! Didn't you read the damn report all the way through?" he snaps. "The killer of those SeeD's had a sword-based weapon. And he was the only person that killed them, there was no indication of other weapons being used."

The others stand in silence for a minute, until Cid speaks up.

"I will not argue with you now Squall, just tell us what you think, and what you would like to do, and it shall be done."

Squall nods simply. "Get me the intelligence reports that Zell, and those SeeD's sent through."

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Zell – SeeD Report 1 – _Rumours of the new presidential elections being rigged are apparently true, as there is an unknown number of people being forced to pull out of the race for the presidency. General Caraway is being the biggest one. He says that health reasons are his reason, which could be true, but at the same time, reports that he was wanting to change the subject very quickly was noticeable. To date, there are now only 3 people/parties running for it now. Originally there was 14. I don't know what's happening but I think someone is threatening them to pull out, or bribing them. Report tomorrow. ZD_

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Zell – SeeD report 2 – _I have discovered evidence that they are being threatened and not bribed to pull out. One of the candidates has a 'personal bodyguard' that makes the threats, the person who told me said the person was unidentifiable, and that, to put it mildly 'scared the shit out of them'. The source that told me this was later found dead. There is something very serious going on here. Also, after infiltrating the underground passageways again, General Caraway invited me to his house, promising he would remain discreet and quiet about my presence. There appeared to be something being built behind the presidential palace, it looked like a tower or something, as the foundations for such a building was already in place. General Caraway has informed me that there will be NO presidential elections, as it has already been done. Report tomorrow, after I have established what this 'tower' building is that they are constructing. ZD_

Squall sits up. "That's the two reports from Zell, I would assume that after he left General Caraways, he was captured then, but I don't think Caraway was involved as he sent us the warning that Zell was captured."

"Why didn't he tell us about the guy who threatened everyone? Surely he must have been too" said Xu.

Squall shakes his head. "He dropped out before he was threatened. So he has no idea. But also this 'tower' building bothers me. What's that all about?"

"Maybe to assert authority" Quistis suggests. "Or it could be a cover for something."

"In any case," Cid says, "The SeeD's you sent out, returned just the one report, about 5 days after you sent them, this is what they wrote."

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SeeD Code 'Alpher" report – _Attempts to recover SeeD ZD remain fruitless, but we are following up on two very strong leads. General Caraway stated that Zell left quietly through the underground passageways and there was no sign of hostilities. Also the other lead was that a member of one of the Timber resistance factions, who is also spying, says that the 'tower' building, which is being built at an alarming rate, is actually being built on top of something, as the faction member remembers seeing a great deal of scientific equipment being sent to the presidential palace also. Working together, and assuming to him we are from Dollet, he helps us come to the conclusion that there must be a laboratory being built behind the palace, and we believe that is where ZD is being held, though we have no proof of this. Will report back soon. 'Alpher"_

"They were supposed to report back every 2 days, but it looks like they were so busy trying to establish this scenario, they reported all at once, a mistake I believe, but after that, no contact, and then. Well, you found the evidence." Cid stops talking. No one speaks for a few moments.

"What would you like to do Squall?" asks Cid.

"I'm going after him. Simple as that. True, Quistis says it may be a trap, but if I find out anything, I'll report back. I'll report back more frequently. That way there will be more to work on."

Cid simply nodes his head. "Very well Squall, go and get prepared, you leave immediately."

Quistis is ready to protest, but decides not to. Xu places a hand on her shoulder. "You can't stop him, you know that."

"I know, but if anything happens to him…" Xu is one of Quistis best friends, and knows how Quistis feels about Squall. Even though she will never be his, Xu knows.

"It will be OK my dear, Zell is good, but Squall is the best, if he gets caught, them we will really worry."

Squall walks to his dorm, and gets his stuff together, which really is only his gunblade. He turns around and walks into Rinoa, who had come into his room.

"Shit, sorry-" he breaks off.

"Quite the mouth you have there" she smiles impishly at him, then quickly frowns. "Where are you going?"

Squall looks at her, into her eyes. "I have to go on a mission Rinoa, but I won't belong, Hopefully."

Rinoa is dumbstruck, it's not the fact he said he is going on a mission but… "Hopefully? _Hopefully_? I don't care if it's a SeeD thing or not, will you be OK? _Hopefully_ not be long?" she is almost crying. Squall quickly hugs her close, she wraps her arms around him. 

"I don't know what's going to happen Rinoa, and I truly don't know how long I am going to be, but I shall return."

Rinoa looks into his eyes. "You better, you better." They kiss one last time, and Squall leaves, leaving Rinoa on her own.

She sobs quietly, as she has an evil feeling in her stomach about this 'mission'…

And her feelings were usually right.


	4. The Mission, the man

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

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Chapter 3 – The mission, the man, and the test.

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(Squall – Dollet)

The Garden dropped him off at Dollet. Looking back up at it, he saw her. Looking down at him, even from this point, he could see the sadness on her face. He too felt sad, as he didn't know when he would see her again, or, more importantly, if. He didn't want to think about that part, but he also realised there was a huge possibility of that happening. What was worse was what the others were going to say. Only Himself, Rinoa, Quistis, Cid and Xu knew where he was going, and he also knew about the fuss it would cause the others… he didn't need all this fussing, but he had long accepted them as friends. Fussy, yes, but friends. He watched the Garden hover away, thought one last time of Rinoa, and set off, to catch the train that would take him to Deling City, where the mission would start.

His mission was 'simple', he laughed quietly. Simple. Such a fickle word. Find Zell, get Zell, dead or alive, find out who or what the Galbadian government is up to, and stop them.

Simple.

He shakes his head, and sets off into the town.

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(Zell -?)

He drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time he woke up, there was a new face above him, he had no idea what the hell they were doing to him, but the strangest thing was, like his capture, they were being ever so careful with him. He panicked slightly as the needles and syringes were filled with the substances, but not once did they go near him. The only thing that went near him was an empty needle, to take some of his blood. But still, strapped down to this table, with an assortment of doctors, all masked, was not particularly pleasant. Also, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. As he looked to his right, the table where he thought he saw someone familiar was empty.

He is interrupted from his thoughts as the man in the suit walks over to him, and looks down on him. Unlike the others, he is not masked. He is wearing an impeccably crisp suit, and his face is one of 'concern?' He looks to be about 25 years old, and he says nothing, just looking down on him. When he does speak, he doesn't talk to Zell directly, more like _about_ him, rather than _to_ him.

"SeeD. So amazing. The best of the best. Training and magic is second to none. Well, perhaps the Sorceress, but very rarely."

Zell tries to speak, but the man places a gloved hand over his mouth.

"Do not worry, Mr Dincht, you are in no harm, you are not going to be 'tested' on, or killed. As a matter of fact, you are going to be released soon. Then you can scurry back to your Garden and tell the higher-ups what these 'nasty' men did to you. Believe me. We have already done 'tests' without even touching you."

He smiles. Zell says nothing, merely looks up at him.

"Ah, the vow of silence. Fair enough, Mr Dincht, but there's really no need. As you will soon find out. Like I said, you are not going to die. Not now, but you will if anyone challenges me. I will claim vengeance for my father. I would ask you where she is, but no, finding out is half the fun."

He walks away, leaving Zell to his thoughts. Zell vowed to remember everything about him, and what he said.

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(Squall – Train to Deling)

He thinks of very little as the train to Deling races through the mountainside. He hopes that Zell is all right, and he also thinks of why he took this mission, and alone.

Because Zell was his best friend. He frowns as he thinks of that word. 'Friends'. He was always alone, now here he was with all these friends, risking himself for one of them on a mission. If this was last year, or before Ultimecia, this would have been a mission to rescue a 'SeeD', not a 'friend'.

He also thinks of his other friends, and also of Rinoa. He hated it when she started to cry, which was the reason why he quickly shut up and didn't say about the 'huge possibility' of him not coming back alive.

But he would come back alive.

So would Zell.

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(Zell -?)

He wakes up again. For some reason, the scientists/doctors keep seeing fit to send him to sleep on the 'man in the suits' commands. But again, when he does wake up, he feels no pain, and the man is standing over him again. Zell keeps his mouth shut.

"Still not talking huh? Don't worry, I do not mind. As you will be free soon. Part of me is thinking that one of your friends is coming for you. Well, they must be, they must have found that rather grim discovery up by the Tomb of Unknown King by now." He smiles. Zell snarls at him.

"When I find you…"

"You're going to do nothing," says the man softly, "because if you do, I will send him after you, and believe me, even though you have been recognised as the greatest hand-to-hand combatant around in the world today, don't think for one second I do not have that field covered."

Zell frowns as he puzzles over what the man means. He doesn't ask because he thinks he won't tell him, but To Zell's surprise…

"Oh believe me boy, when I am finished, believe me, you think it was bad that Galbadia wanted total world domination before? No no, on the contrary, this is different, because, not only will they _want_ it, they will _have_ it. Garden included. And I will have my revenge on her…

Zell remains silent, curious as to whom he means by 'her'.

"Now in a few hours, you will be released. To do as you wish, but be forewarned, do not come after me Mr Dincht, because it will be the last act you will ever do."

And on that note, Zell is gassed again, and put to sleep, his last vision being the mans face…

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(Squall – Deling City)

Squall disembarks. Making sure no one notices him. It should be difficult, as he is not wearing his usual garb, just blue jeans, white T-shirt and a leather coat is all he has. Lionheart is sitting at his side, but no one takes notice, as there are several other people who also walk about with weapons, as do the soldiers. Monster attacks could happen at any time, so people are armed any time.

Squall quickly takes off for the Victory arch, which will take him into the underground passageways. He decides to see General Caraway first, to see if he has found anything else out. As he steps out of the station, he looks at the sight that greets him.

A tower, a massive tower, reaches up into the sky above the presidential palace. Squall, while no architect, shakes his head at the size of it. How could they possibly build something so big within a few weeks? A structure like that would take months surely…

His thoughts are further interrupted as a car screeches to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, the back door is flung open, and someone is flung out, tied up.

It's Zell.

Squall stares at the car, and into the eyes of someone, who is covered by a hooded cloak. They lock eyes for a minute, and the mans eyes widen, then the car door closes and speeds off. Squall races down the stairs and grabs Zell, untying the bonds. He is out cold. People and soldiers immediately surround them, but a shout stops anything else.

"Let me through damn!" Squall recognises the voice. It's the voice of General Caraway. He looks at Zell, then Squall. He quickly adopts an official pose, as he immediately recognises the reason Squall is here.

"Let them through, come, help him to my car, young citizen," he says to Squall. Who obeys.

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(Caraways Mansion)

"What the hell is going on?" asks Squall angrily. "There's something going on, and for what it's worth I'm sorry General, but I think you know what that is." He glares at him. Zell is sleeping on the couch, apparently no injuries are sustained to him, which is the first thing that puzzles Squall, but he does notice a small needle mark just at the top of his forearm…

"Squall, I truly do not know what's going on any better than you, but I think it has something to do with whoever the new Galbadian president is, we shall find out within 2 days, as the official announcement is then."

Squall says nothing, merely looks out of the window. He points at the tower. "What the hell is that? Why are they building it?"

Caraway shakes his head. "I truly do not know."

Squall shakes his head quietly, then sits down. He takes a minute to get his head together. "Do you think that those guys in the car are connected to the new president?"

Caraway thinks for a minute. "I would guess so, all this fear and rumours about bribery and threats are stemming from the presidential palace. Of course they are denying it, but I believe so, since it has been strictly runners for the presidency that have been threatened."

"Can you give me the names of who was running for it, or rather, who's left?" he asks the General, thinking of an idea.

Caraway writes down on a bit of paper the names of the 3 candidates still left. Squall takes a look at the names.

Carlos Decinal

Vince Gilned

Thomas Alburn

Squall looks at the names. None of them are familiar to him. "This is no good, all these are are names."

"I might be able to help," says Zell. Squall turns around and looks at him, he sees nothing but hate and anger on his face.


	5. Squall and The Tower

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

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Chapter 4 – Squall and The Tower

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"Thou shall not stir ones foot to see the foe – Romeo and Juliet"

(Squall/Zell/Caraway – Caraways mansion)

"Are you alright Zell?" asks Caraway. Zell says nothing, merely stands there, trying to calm himself down. After a few minutes, he settles. His face replaces anger with confusion.

"Zell?" asks Squall this time.

"I'm fine. What happened to me?"

Squall and Caraway both stare. "You don't remember?" asks the general.

Zell pinches the top of his nose, lines run down his forehead as he closes his eyes tightly. Finally he looks up, and, staring blankly in no direction, he simply says "No."

No one says anything, instead Zell sits down on the seat. Rubbing his head slightly with his hand. Looking down at himself, he sees the needle mark. He points to it.

"Where did this come from?"

Squall says nothing, watching him. _He's forgotten, and I think that's what the needle mark was for_ he thinks.

General Caraway gives Zell a drink of water. "Zell, and I think I know what your thinking Squall, the needle mark is caused by someone injecting a serum that causes forgetfulness. Is there anything at all you remember?"

Zell sits quietly for a minute. "I remember leaving Garden. I… remember going to Deling. I was in an alleyway. Then I was attacked, that's all I can remember."

"Who attacked you?" asks Squall. He thinks about the bodies up at the Tomb. _A sword weapon was used…_

"Can't recall. At all. Except he had a sword, a blade of some type… why the hell can't I remember?" he shouts, his now-familiar temper flaring up.

"Because of whatever they gave you has caused you to forget." Repeats Caraway.

"This memory stuff is a problem," says Squall. "And accurate too, Zell can't remember anything from the start of the mission to when we found him. It's as if it was programmed or something. How can something be so accurate?"

"You may have answered your question there. Programmed," says Caraway. Zell and Squall look at him.

"Is that possible?" Asks Zell.

"Very much so, if they have a doctor qualified enough to do it."

"A programmed…virus?" Squall loses himself in his thoughts.

"What do we do now Squall?" asks Zell.

Squall does not answer for a few minutes. "All we can do is go back to Garden, and see Dr Kadowaki. After that, I think we should wait and see who is elected as the new president of Galbadia. Wait…" he trails off, grabbing the piece of paper off the generals' table. He holds it up for Zell to see.

"Recognise any of these guys?" he asks Zell. Zell takes the paper, and studies it.

Three names stare out at him. Alongside it, there are 3 pictures, one for each of the candidates. Zell stares at them for a long time. After a bit, he simply says "No. I am sorry." He lowers his head in shame.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Look, change of plan. Zell, you go back to Garden and to the doctor, I'm gonna stay here."

Zell and Caraway both say "Why?" at the same time.

Squall merely points out the window. "One word. That" he says, signalling the tower.

"You think that's where I was?" asks Zell.

"Yes," Squall nods, "or rather, under it. We think there's a laboratory under it, or something, the tower is a false front. Covering something up."

"Well, the plans for the tower were designed a few months ago," says Caraway, "but I don't know if anything is under it."

"I'll soon find out," says Squall simply. Zell moves to protest.

"Squall, be careful, I can come with you, I might be able-"

Squall cuts him off. "No, Zell, consider that an order, Get yourself to Garden, ask the doctor to take a sample of your blood and have this thing studied. We need to find out what it was. They could have done anything to you and they have made you forget. So the first step is to find out what this stuff is that has caused you to forget." He sighs, "look, I won't be gone long."

Zell grimaces. "That's what I said remember?"

Squall says nothing. General Caraway speaks.

"I can open the sewer again if you like."

Squall nods. "Good, I'll go straight into the presidential palace, see what I can do. They won't take me that's for sure, not without hassle." He smiles slightly. "Give you that assurance anyway."

Zell grins. "Man Squall, you sound too confident." He salutes, then goes out the door to the lobby.

General Caraway gives Squall a look. "You do realise Squall, that you may be caught or killed. I am sorry I can't help you much, and I am sorry I do not know what that tower is for, but if there's anything else I can do-"

"Get Zell out of here, as soon as, he has to get back to Garden. Contact them, tell them the situation, and request they stay nearby, not too close, but close enough."

"Done." Caraway then salutes him. "Good luck Squall, and just for the funny side, I approve of you and my daughter." He smiles widely.

Squall shakes his head in amusement. "I'm honoured," he says simply, before climbing down the ladder into the sewers, Caraway closes the lid, then proceeds to his phone.

(_Squall – Sewers_)

Squall proceeds down through the sewers. There are little monsters here, a few bats that's about it. Thinking his treacherous memory would have forgotten the layout of the place, he breathes a sigh of relief as everything comes back to him, studying the map in the Garden before he left had its use after all…

There is hardly anything to distract him from his two main thoughts: to get to whomever took Zell, and whoever the person is that attacked him. His mind flashes back to the person in the car, under the cloak. The surprise on the person's face as they locked eyes was very apparent, even for what he did see. A squeaky gate snaps him out of his thoughts for a second, and before he knows it, there is a ladder, that leads up into the presidential area.

Time to go.

(_Zell/Caraway_)

The general and Zell sit in his limousine.

"I have contacted Garden, they will be here within the hour."

Zell smiles wanly, then proceeds to stare at the floor.

"Something on your mind, Zell?" 

"Nothing, that's the thing. Absolutely nothing. I'm trying to remember…but it just won't let me. It's almost as if there's a locked door and I've lost the key."

"It's a pity, it would have helped Garden and Squall immensely."

Zell nods his head in agreement. "Wait… there is one thing."

Caraway places a hand on his shoulder. "Take your time."

Zell shakes his head. "The guy who attacked me, the way he fought. He fought just like…" his eyes widen. "No…"

"Zell?" Caraways worried face is a far cry from Zell's frightened one. "Zell?" he repeats again.

Zell sits there quietly, his shocked expression as he thinks about the 'person' whom attacked him and managed to capture him. One word comes to his mouth, that only he hears.

"Squall…"

(_Squall – Sewers/Presidential Area_)

Squall manages to get out of the sewers, replaces the lid and dashes behind a truck. It is the same one that they used before. It sits there as if it has never been used. Squall thinks of this only briefly. From this angle where he is, he sees the main gates of the Palace, a good few hundred metres away. Two newly built watchtowers are at either side of the gates. Four men patrol, one in each tower, two at the gate. All are armed. Squall makes a mental note of this, should he need to escape via that route. Dashing to the other side of the truck, he looks up. The tower dominates his vision. It must be about twenty floors high, by his rough estimate. Then he thinks another thought.

__

The lab might be underneath it. But there might be information or something useful at the top. I don't know whether to go up or down. Damn.

Squall contemplates this for a moment, then he skids under the truck completely as a lorry drives by, loaded with boxes and tools. The truck passes by, using this vantagepoint, he notes the guards changing. He checks his watch. 7:00PM.

__

Every hour, by the looks of it. He notes this too. Getting out so he is between the wall and the truck, he begins to creep around the walls of the palace. The wall curves to his left, and, by blind luck, he thinks, another unmanned lorry sits, which is all well and good as another truck drives by, this one empty. Lying under it, he is able to see the tower for real.

There is a massive garden before the tower. Various trees and vegetation grow there. Squall notices there is a fair gap between the palace and the tower, but he also notices a huge walkway reaching from the palace (roughly where they fought the Iguons) to the tower. There is a door at the bottom too. The lorry that passed him going in is stopped at the front then drives off round the back. Squall's eyes narrow as a man steps out onto the garden, smoking. Wearing an immaculately crisp suit, he stands next to a scientist, easily distinguished by his long white coat.

Squall is able to sneak out from under this lorry and, using some high bushes for cover, listen to them talk, occasionally opening a small gap to see. The two men have their backs turned to him.

"I assure you sir, that everything will be OK. The SeeD will never remember what happened, says one.

"He better fucking not, doctor." Says the other, Squall looks at the man in the suit. "I didn't use good money, resources and men to steal those vials from Esthar for nothing you know."

Squalls eyes narrow. _Esthar_, he thinks, making a note of that. But he is shocked from his thoughts by what the man in the suit says next.

"We managed to get Mr. Dincht, but I want all six of them. It's the only way we can be sure Mirror has learned everything properly. The best form of training is against an active opponent."

Squall says nothing. _Mirror? Who? All six of 'us'?_ Another saying makes Squall take note.

"The tower is now complete, albeit a few bits and bobs, but it can defend itself. Now, go down to the cells and see how our guest is doing."

He hears footsteps as they both go their separate ways. Squall looks through the hole in the bush he was watching them from, and watches as the man in the crisp suit goes into the palace; the scientist goes to the tower. Squall makes a quick observation of the place. The bushes are huge, and he makes no note of any cameras or soldiers. Clearly, they were still constructing those. He only needs a few minutes to determine he won't be seen. He decides to follow the scientist, as what the man said made him decide.

__

A guest in the cells? They have someone else?

Scooting to the foot of the tower, he looks up at it, huge metal pole-type things run almost the height of the tower, clearly they look as if they have been attached to it, rather than built with it. A huge crane is just to the left. A lorry with one of the huge 'poles' grabs his attention. His eyes go wide as the crane lifts the pole.

It's a gun. A massive gun.

Squall looks up again, and notes a further 3 of them. _That's what the guy said when he said it can defend itself. _An evil feeling seeps into his stomach.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he runs full pelt to the door, expecting to be caught, but no one sees him. He looks up at the door, which is huge. But a small push opens it completely. As a matter of fact, it opens like an automatic door. A booth sits on his left, there is no guard. A few wires still hang about, suggesting they still need fixed. Suddenly with animal-like instinct, he dives into the booth (_no windows thank Hyne_ he thinks) as a worker appears then goes out the door, stopping only slightly to wonder why the door is already open. Running along the corridor, he notices none of the cameras are functioning yet. No lights indicate that they are on, and with that thought in his mind he runs to the end, where a lift awaits. Thinking it not to be working, he tries anyway. The lift pings jauntily open for him.

(_?_)

"He is coming," says a husky voice, standing next to a man in a suit, who lights up a cigarette.

"I know, shit he's good, record time getting in, and I told you those damn cameras need to be fixed!" he yells at some technicians.

"What shall we do? I want to face him" the eagerness in the mans voice is very much noticeable. The suited man turns to him.

"In good time, my friend, let's see where he is going. It seems to be the…" his eyes widen. "Fuck! He's going for the cells! He must have been nearby when he was outside and heard me and Dr Shaw!" he rounds on the husky-voiced man. Trying to keep calm he simply says:

"Get him, and lead him to the 20th floor. Then, you can face him."

(_Squall – Tower – Lift_)

Squall looks at the lift. Clearly, there are floors where there is a key needed to access. He can access up to floor 16, but he notices 16-20 are covered, and that a key is required. He also notices another set of buttons, a small smile registers on his face as he looks at the obvious signs.

****

Floor B1-B4 – Laboratory

Floor B5-B7 – Cells

He pushes the Cells button. Determined to find out who it is they have. The lift goes down rather fast, much to Squall surprise.

__

The Garden lifts don't go as fast he thinks amusingly to himself. The lift stops at floor B5. Grabbing his gunblade, he runs out. The scientist looks at him in horror; Squall quickly runs up and punches the man, knocking him out. Light comes from only one door, the 5th one along. Running up to it, he looks into the window. He can't make out who is inside. Wasting no time, he uses his gunblade to whack the lock off. Kicking the door down, he stops in mute shock as he looks at the prisoner standing inside.

It's Seifer.

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Will update soon. Thanks for reviewing/waiting/etc.


	6. Mirror Image

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

(A/N – A reviewer wrote about where Seifer had 'vanished to'. The prologue is taken from this chapter, which explains what the prologue is all about and how Rinoa and co find Seifer and Squall. Hope that clears things up.)

Chapter 5 – Mirror Image

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'Actions, not words, make the person'

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(Zell – Garden)

Zell dashes up to the Headmasters office. Everyone stops and stares as he tears by them. Some with shock on their faces.

Cid, oblivious as to who is coming, speaks to Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and Rinoa.

"So now you know why Squall is away with Zell. He is going to find out what is going on-" He breaks off as Zell bursts into his office. The others stand in shock.

"Zell!" shouts Cid. "How did you-"

"Sir, we've no time! I need the guys help! Please!"

"What's happening Zell?"Asks Quistis.

"I'll tell you on the way! We need to get to Deling City!"

They say no more, and all file out, leaving Cid alone.

__

(Squall – The Tower – Cells)

"Seifer?" asks Squall, tilting his head to one side. _A prisoner? But I thought…_

"Squall? What the hell?" he returns. 

Squall hears a noise coming from outside."No time," he says quickly. We'll get answers later. Let's get out of here."

"Too bloody right" says Seifer, his familiar smirk present, "let's-" he breaks off as he goes first out the door. Squall runs into him. Without asking anything, he looks up and sees the sight in front of him.

A boy of about 19 stands in front of them. His head is cocked to the left slightly, observing Seifer and Squall. He is fairly tall, just about 6 foot. Reddish-blonde hair sits on his head, in a perfect middle part. The hair goes down to his shoulders, neatly cut. He wears a simple T-shirt/jeans combo, and trainers. But the most striking feature about him was his eyes. Squall really didn't register the rest of his face. It was his eyes.

They were a peculiar blue/green hybrid. And seemed to _glow._

Squall did think nothing of it, assuming he was another prisoner, but one glance at Seifer quells that.

Seifer's face isn't one of curiosity. It is one of _fear_.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, follow me if you think you're a man. Yes, it is a taunt, but believe me Squall, I have been waiting for this. You too Seifer."

Squall is bout to ask how he knows his name when Seifer throws an arm out to stop him. The boy gets on the lift, presses a button and simply lets the lift doors close.

"What's going on Seifer?" asks Squall quietly.

"It's one fucker of a story, but just answer me this. Where's my gunblade?" He strolls up to a locker and bashes it open. Hyperion sits there. He takes it and sheathes it. He looks up as Squall speaks.

"Is he dangerous?"

Seifer looks straight at him. "By Hyne yes Squall, he is."

__

(Zell – The return to Galbadia)

Zell hastily tells them a quick rendition of what Squall has done.

"So what's the big deal then? Sounds like he can take care of things himself." Says Irvine. 

"No, because he doesn't know what he's up against."

"Fill us in then," says the cowboy.

The others pant as Zell takes off at high speed. The others race after him.

"Zell! Hold up!" screams Rinoa. This causes Zell to stop and turn. They are standing outside the door to the 2F Balcony.

"What Rinoa? Please-"

"Zell, I can take us there in an instant! Sorceresses can render objects lightweight and we can _fly_ there using my powers! Also while I concentrate on that, you can tell us all!"

Zell says nothing, merely looking at her as she enfolds her wings, a beautiful white color. Her eyes, a lovely sunshine color, glow highly. Pointing a finger at each SeeD in turn, they find themselves floating.

"Wow! Cool!" says Selphie laughing.

"Now Zell, fill us in!" She shouts, as, taking off from the 2F balcony, she motions and the others follow her. Zell is about to open his mouth as Rinoa speeds up, some of the scenery becoming a blur. She can already see Deling City, but it will take a few minutes to get there.

"When I was kidnapped, they drugged me to forget. Indeed I have, all of it, except the guy who captured me in the first place."

Quistis asks, "Do you know them?"

Zell shakes his head, trying not to look down. "No, damn, but it was the way they fought. That's what I remember."

"The way they fought? Like fighting style?" enquires Selphie, stopping from doing acrobatics.

Zell nods his head. "Yes."

There is a silence as Zell says it.

"He fought, exactly like Squall. I think it was even the same weapon. A gunblade."

"Sounds like Seifer!" yells a curious voice, this turns out to be Rinoa's, magnified via her power.

"No, because I know how Seifer fights. I know all of your fighting techniques, well, the stances and that you use, but this was like a carbon copy. Hell, if I didn't know better, I would have said it _was_ Squall."

"Then we must make haste!" Shouts Rinoa. Suddenly she stops as she spies a huge tower type structure. Stopping in mid-air. She looks down on it.

"That's it, Rinoa, the tower." Says Zell, next to her.

"Tense your leg muscles, I'm going to land." She says simply, before tearing off to the tower, its huge structure dominating them as they get closer. Rinoa spots a walkway linking the tower to the Presidential palace, and lands on it. The other SeeD's grunt as they land.

"What now?" asks Irvine, drawing Exeter. Quistis and Selphie also draw their weapons.

"Wait…" Rinoa says, her sorceress powers still around her. She stands perfectly still. Closing her eyes, she hears something.

Sounds like a battle, a major one. Between 3 people. Someone is hurting badly. She cannot see whom, but she feels it as….

"Let's go! She screams and tears off towards the tower. The others follow quickly.

__

(Seifer/Squall – The Tower - Cells)

Seifer and Squall stand side-by-side, waiting for the lift to return. They both hide in Seifer's cell. In case something unpleasant comes out the doors. Squall turns to him.

"A quick explanation, if you please."

Seifer looks at him incredulously. " Simply put, I'm here because I came here."

Squall's eyes narrow. "You came here? Then get captured?"

Seifer grunts. "That wasn't part of the plan. But at the same time, I was ready for it. It is a huge story Squall. Please, let's just concentrate on getting the hell out of here."

Squall is disturbed by the non-mocking-deadly-serious tone in Seifer's voice. The lift 'pings' gently as it reaches the floor again.

They wait. Nothing.

Squall peeks his head out and there is nothing of any kind. Taking the handle of the door he broke earlier, he tosses it to the lift.

Nothing.

"Looks alright to me," mumbles Squall. "But he may have rigged the lift with a weight explosive."

Seifer's face is serious to a tee. "No, no Squall, he wants us to go to him." With that, he walks out, gunblade in hand, coat over his shoulder as he goes to the lift.

"What's going on Seifer?" asks Squall again as he joins him in the lift. As they look at the buttons, Squall notices something.

Only Floor 20 is available. It wasn't before. Seeing no option. He presses it, the lift takes a while to get there. Seifer speaks.

"I'll keep this brief. I was hired by a party to investigate the backgrounds of the various candidates, and alert them if there was a possibility of another Deling taking the helm," he says. "While doing that, I found out that someone has funded a laboratory to be built here."

"What is the lab for?" asks Squall.

Seifer looks him in the face. "It is a project to train, learn, teach and basically 'create' the perfect assassin. Capable of doing anything anyone else can do, but better."

Squalls eyes narrow. "How far have they gotten with this project?"

Seifer says nothing as the lift stops. Then the doors open. With one last glance at Squall, he says simply:

"They already have him."

"Welcome gentlemen." Says a voice. Both of them do not know where it I originating from, as the room is very dark. "Ah Seifer, how nice of you to break out of your cell and join us, and no, I know you won't say that Squall 'got' you out, because I know you are too arrogant to admit it." The voice drips with sarcasm.

"Cut the shit, where are you?" snarls Seifer. Squall slowly draws Lionheart. He can somehow _feel _something about to happen. He looks ahead as a light is switched on. The floor is empty, save for a huge square light in the ceiling. The height of the room and the flatness/width of the floor immediately give Squall the image of a training room. The room is not entirely square. One of the corners, the wall comes in. There is a door there. Leading off to the right. 

All around them apart from that however, are glass windows. Stretching from floor to ceiling.

The man in the suit stands before them. He is fairly handsome, standing about 5 foot 10, he smokes a cigarette, flicking it casually away. Squall memorizes the face: clean shaven, broad shoulders, square jaw, and dark blue eyes. Seifer speaks up.

"I know why you led us here. Just for the record asshole, your memory-altering substances didn't work on me."

The mans smile falters. "Bullshit. You know nothing."

Seifer laughs. "No? Then you _didn't_ capture a SeeD named Zell? You _didn't_ inject him with shit that caused him to forget? You didn't tell him a story about how you're going to claim vengeance for your father.?" He snickers. "I know everything about you."

"You don't know my name boy, and you will not live long enough to get it. Well, let's not beat about the bush." He turns his face to Squall.

"Squall Leonhart. The greatest of them all. Best gunblade fighter. Best sorceress slayer. Best SeeD. Time for you to prove it."

Squall says nothing, merely leveling his gaze at him. His eyes flicker as the door to the mans right opens. The boy he saw at the lift steps out. Seifer's smile vanishes in an instant, to be replaced by determination.

"Squall, meet 'Mirror'"

Squall studies him. He is now wearing a trenchcoat like Seifer's. But his has a high collar. Squall immediately recognizes that, whatever weapons this guy has, he has it strapped to his back. The boy named Mirror says nothing, but an evil glint in his eye tells him he _wants_ to fight Squall.

"Oh, Seifer, feel free to join in, he can handle the both of you. Easily."

"Whaaaaaaat? Bullshit!" Seifer yells.

The suited man smirks. "Fine. If you say so. Mirror, enlighten them." He walks to the door Mirror came out of, Walks in, and close it behind him.

Mirror smiles slightly, then whispers something under his breath. In a split second he jumps in the air, leveling a two-footed propeller kick at the two of them. Both Seifer and Squall are flattened by the mans kicks.

Shaking his head quickly, Squall springs to his feet. Raising Lionheart, he takes up a fighting stance. Mirror then does the same, copying Squalls stance, down to the movement.

__

What the hell? Squall thinks, but has no time to think, as Mirror quickly stands upright. Removing his jacket. Seifer, who has already stood up and stands just ahead of Squall, backs up slightly. Squalls eyes widen slightly as Mirror removes a sword from a holster strapped to his back.

It is a Lionheart. But instead of being the same color as Squalls, his is made of pure silver.

"I want Leonhart only. Almasy, you stay out of this, join in at your peril!" says Mirror.

Seifer looks at Squall, his eyes saying _no, don't fight him alone_. Squall decides to try his luck. Seifer grabs him.

"No Squall, you can't win."

"Why not?" he asks.

"I know what he can do."

"Watch my back, I take your word for it Seifer. Jump in if you want. But only if need be," says Squall, as Mirror uses float to put his coat back on. He could have sworn he saw another- 

He is cut off as Mirror flies for him, Squall races out of the way and dodges it. Mirror stops suddenly, then runs _backwards_, sword outstretched. Seifer ducks the blade and stands to one side, watching.

__

Fine Squall, fight him if you must, but you are wrong. It WILL take both of us.

Squall stands in his battle position, ready. Again, Mirror copies it, down to the right foot out, left foot back a bit, sword rested outward at waist level. Squall goes for him. Mirror smiles as Squalls blade comes down on his. 

Squall crashes his blade into Mirrors, and looks into those eyes. They are no longer glowing, instead, they are normal, but Squall thinks of this for only a split-second. He uses his various techniques. But as he goes on, he become increasingly aware of the familiarity of Mirrors fighting technique. He was expecting a unique way of fighting, but he couldn't be farther from the truth as he recognized a familiar low block that Mirror utilizes to stop a low parry from Squall.

__

It was his technique.

His eyes widen for only a second, then suddenly it is his turn to look surprised as Mirror comes back at him. Squall immediately recognizes his own parry/thrust/swipe/low attacks. Mirror then dives back a bit and simply smiles. Squalls eyes narrow.

__

Now. I know why he is called Mirror.

All of a sudden Squall is blown off his feet as Mirrors blade collides with such ferocity that Squall is sent skidding along the floor and crashes into one of the windows. The glass does not break, but instead, when he dives out the way and Mirror chops the sword down where Squalls head was 10 seconds earlier, the silver blade actually scythes into the glass. It does not shatter, merely leaves a huge cut. As if the glass was skin.

Squall dives to his feet, and attempts to keep Mirror against the glass wall. Mirror is fast though and spins around so fast that Squall is once again blown to the ground. He watches in amazement as Mirror spins at a huge velocity of speed: clearly faster than anything else. Squall suspects he is using haste, but he isn't. As if he was, Squall would have registered a purple glow coming from him. Mirror uses this technique as a propeller to blow him down again. Squall gets up and is shocked as Mirror lands perfectly: but it is the way he stands when he lands. Only one other person ever uses that pose for fighting, and, coupled with the fact it is a Lionheart he has, it looks even more stranger,

Mirror stands, his side almost completely facing Squall, one hand, his left, is down at his side. His other is outstretched at a perfect 90-degree angle, Lionheart pointing outward at him.

__

Seifer's fighting stance. Mirrors smile has disappeared from his face. Squall readies himself, glancing over at Seifer, who looks simply astonished at Mirror.

Mirror then crouches slightly and points Lionheart upwards: Seifer's striking pose. Squall goes for him, and Mirror follows suit: Mirror spins around once and Squall, immediately recognizing an echo of the fight that got both he and Seifer their scars, brings his blade downward to block it. As Mirror backs up, he spins again so fast that he is just a blur: but this time he does not knock Squall down, as he wasn't even going for him.

Seifer's face is numbed as Mirror uses his own Lionheart to stop Seifer's blade from taking his head off: Then with one kick, which he bashes into Seifer, he sends him tumbling down. His serious face still intact.

"Fine, the two of you it is. Squall, you disappoint me. Strong you are, but your technique was harder to learn, not go up against."

Squall says nothing as Seifer gets up. "Right Squall. Together. He can't take the both of us."

Mirror says nothing as they stand side by side: he smiles slightly.

"Let's see what you can do then," he says removing his coat. Seifer's eyes widen as Mirror pulls out a perfect replica of Hyperion: with the exception being his is made of gold.

"Gold…Hyperion?" Seifer blurts, but he quickly comes to as once again, Mirror utilizes the 'propeller' technique: this time outstretching both blades. He screams as he does this. Suddenly the room is alight with gunfire as he sends bullets everywhere. 

Squall seen this coming: and quickly casts protect on himself: as does Seifer. Wasting no time, he goes for him. Mirror is ready and this time, Squall knows he is outclassed as both blades bear down on him. This was unfamiliar territory for Squall: he didn't think it was possible for anyone to master 2 gunblade. It took him years just to master the one, and even then, he almost gave up.

Suddenly Mirror is thrown a bit by surprise as Seifer dives in, but he merely uses both blades to stop both attacks. His face is one of hate as he pushes Squall away, then concentrates on Seifer. Seifer seems to be holding him up, fighting as if he has seen this before. Squall dives to his feet and wades in again. Mirror spins wildly, keeping both at bay. He goes low and uses the side of Hyperion to swat Seifer to the ground. In the same motion he steps on Seifer and places the swords as an 'X' shape as Squall suddenly opens fire. The bullets tear from Squalls gunblade and bash into Mirrors. Mirror uses his speed to deflect most of them with his weapons while simultaneously running, moving so Squall can't hit him as much. Seifer dives up and Mirror stops, arms outstretched as Seifer and Squall flank him at opposite sides.

__

He never anticipated taking on the two of us Squall thinks, but its too late. With breakneck speed again, Mirror scythes his Hyperion into Squall shoulder, while using his Lionheart to drill Seifer. Squall calls out in agony as the sword goes into his shoulder. He brings his own Lionheart up in time to block Mirrors and stop him from taking his head off but the two blades clash ferociously and Squalls head is whacked by the side of his own sword. He feels skin split open in his head and there is blood. He collapses as Seifer attempts to spear him, but Mirror spins and scythes up Seifer's chest, ripping his clothes. As Mirrors sword reaches the top, he drives it into his shoulder. Using his own Hyperion for a lever, he jumps horizontally and kicks Seifer full force in the ribs: Squall hears an audible snap coming from Seifer. Seifer seems to stand there for a minute in mid air, and then he is careening across the room, and smashes into the glass wall. There is a boom as the window caves in and Seifer flops to the floor.

Squall feels something from within as his head lolls about. Energy. He gets up. Mirror spins around and watches as Squall, with blood pouring from a wound in his head, mutters a word.

"Haste."

Mirrors eyes widen as Squall vanishes, then reappears again right in front of him. Mirror sees nothing but red and blue as Lionheart bashes into his own sword. Mirror grits his teeth more and uses both blades to parry all of Squalls attacks. Squall thinks quickly.

__

Shit, he is damn fast, even keeping up with this. I have to get one of those blades from him.

Mirrors arms are practically a blur now as he jumps and cartwheels backwards in mid air horizontally. Each of his blows clattering Squalls sword, who, sped up with haste, is able to parry every one of them. Mirror moves unbelievably fast, backing off. Squall quickly dispels the haste.

Mirror is panting a fair bit now. "See…" he gasps. "You're losing Squall, I have dealt with Seifer, now I shall deal with you. I know everything about you, all your moves, all your techniques, and all your magic's. Everything."

Squalls ears prick. There was something he didn't mention, and Squall was glad, as he was busy charging it…

"Everything?" he asks slowly.

"Everything."

"How about…THIS!" screams Squall, as blue, yellow and white lightning crackle around him. Mirrors face is one of shock, almost confusion.

"RENZOKUKEN!" cries Squall, and launches himself at Mirror. Mirror scythes his sword into Squalls bad arm, but Squall merely kicks him back and lays into him. Mirrors face is twisted as Squall bears down on him, his swords barely taking the blows. He has to use both blades joined together to stop the barrage. Mirror is able to actually stab his sword in Squall a few times, one dangerously close to Squalls heart, but as he looks into Squall manic eyes, he drops his guard, and that is all Squall needs. He boots him with a force unknown to even himself, and Mirror rams into the glass wall, shattering and breaking 3 panels completely.

Seifer meanwhile, gets up groggily, and he sees what Squall is about to do. He grabs something hopefully tied down through his blood stained eyes, and hangs on.

"FATED…CIRCLE!" Screams Squall and launches into the air. Blood pours from his wounds but he feels nothing. A beautiful golden glow emanates from nowhere it seems and he charges his blade. Spinning once, he unleashes it. Mirror, no idea as to what to do, merely crosses the swords over him. He mutters something, but screams himself as the force of the attack rips into him .His blades pivot outward so he himself looks like and X. The ground of the floor rips up and bashes into him. Mirror yells more as a particularly huge chunk of floor whacks him in the face. He then feels himself being torn from the ground also. All he feels after that is a huge shockwave in his back as he is thrown into the wall where the other door was, where the suited man left. The ferocity of the blow destroys every window left on the floor. Mirrors eyes close. He slumps to the ground, dropping his weapons at his sides.

"Thought you knew everything about us you …bastard…" mumbles Squall. He can't stay awake any longer, he falls onto his back, and collapses unconscious.

Seifer crawls over to Squall. Blood pours from his wounds also. He tries to rouse Squall, but something causes him to look up.

__

Mirror was getting up.

"I'll get you…SeeD…You're no match for me…" even though Squall was unconscious, the panic in his voice was all too apparent. He was afraid. In case Seifer also to had these techniques…

Seifer gets up to his feet, he can barely stand, but he manages to.

"Why not try me then fucker?" he pants.

Suddenly a huge helicopter appears outside. Mirror spins round as the helicopter lowers as close as it can.

"I'll kill you all!" he screams and dives out the window, landing with a thump on a platform attached to the chopper. It takes off. The noise dies out. There is nothing, not even a wind.

Seifer then spins round as the door is ripped off its hinges. And Rinoa races in.

__

Oh, no…

__

(Rinoa – The Tower - Floor 20)

The SeeD's run through the hallway, after disembarking the lift. To Rinoa it seems like an endless corridor, with the door leaping further back as she reaches for it, as if to mock her. But she kicks that thought out of her mind and runs faster…

"Rinoa! Slow down!" Quistis shouts as the others up the pace to keep up. Thy eventually reach the doors. Rinoa, not bothering to open it the conventional way, rips it off it hinges with her power, tossing it over her head and the others. What she sees causes her to freeze to the spot.

Seifer stands over Squall, who is lying covered in blood. Seifer himself is bleeding too; the look on his face is one of surprise and shock. But no words are spoken as the others also assess the view. To Seifer, he knows what they are assuming, and he knows Squall hasn't told them…

He just hoped and prayed that they would let him explain… as they don't know what they are up against…

All done! I would like to think I did a pretty good job with the fight. Took me ages to try to get correctly. All reviews welcome thanks J .


	7. Seifer's Story

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

****

Chapter 6 – Seifer's Story

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'Memories, the greatest evidence of all'

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(Rinoa - The Tower)

Rinoa surveys the carnage in the room. Slowly, she moves her head, taking in the scene. Every window on the floor has been smashed out. Glass litters the floor. There is a huge crack in the wall opposite her, and there is a door too. The floor just in front of that is ripped up, and is strewn across the place. A wind blows some glass out of the building. Her instincts were right, there was a battle here. Slowly, she levels her eyes on Seifer, who is standing somewhat, holding his ribs. His gaze does not leave hers.

"Seifer" she says quietly. "What have you done?"

Seifer says nothing at first. He merely looks down at Squall, lying unconscious at his feet. Looking back up, he notices that Irvine, Selphie, Quistis and Zell are all armed and ready, to pounce if need be.

"Please, hear me…" he coughs, blood comes out of his mouth. 

"Get away from him," says Irvine sharply. Seifer decides to obey, but rather than walk, he simply falls over, dropping his weapon on the ground. He notices Squall stir slightly.

"Squall," says Seifer but is shut up as Irvine moves up and places Exeter against his head. _Please Squall, wake up…_

Rinoa crouches down and places a hand on Squalls head. Squall murmurs something, but Rinoa cannot make it out.

"Curaga," she mutters, a lovely greenish-blue glow emanates form her and surrounds Squall, before absorbing into his body.

"He should be fine in a few minutes" she says, and walks over to where Seifer, now in a kneeling position, is located. Suddenly she grabs him and, with unknown power, hauls him off the floor with one arm and yanks him up. Holding him up higher than she is, she glares at him. Seifer looks down at her, from his blurry eyes.

"What did you DO!" she booms at him, a shockwave of wind causes everyone to move back a bit.

"Please, Rinoa, it wasn't…"

"No! It never IS you is it! I know there was a battle between 3 people here, and it looks like your friend got away, but well seeing it took both you and them to get Squall down, I swear when I find your friend…"

"Put him down Rinoa!" shouts Squall, sitting up. Rinoa spins round and sees him, leveling his gaze at her.

"Now Rinoa, what you are doing is wrong."

Rinoa looks at him oddly, watching him as he gets to his feet. She puts Seifer down gently. Seifer, unable to stand up, collapses. Squall walks over to him. Bruises and cuts are still visible on Squalls face and body. He crouches down to Seifer, looking up at him.

"Thanks…man" he splutters, as Squall places a hand on his chest and mutters 'Curaga'. The same sensation that ran/appeared on Squall now happens to Seifer. Seifer blinks, and then proceeds to stand up. But as soon as he does so, Irvine immediately places Exeter to his head again. Squall glares at him, his whole expression telling the gunman to drop it. Irvine obeys.

"Would someone kindly tell me what is going on?" asks Quistis, who remained strangely silent throughout.

Squall looks at Seifer, Seifer nods.

"Let's get out of here first, I have a feeling our way home is going to be difficult" says Squall.

"No no, I'll take us back, it's faster" Rinoa replies.

"Him too" says Squall, pointing at Seifer. The others look at him oddly, watching him as Seifer collects his gunblade.

"But…why?" ask Zell and Selphie. Squall rounds on them.

"Because he is the one who can tell us everything! Thank shit I woke up and was healed in time to stop you lot from destroying him. Next time, don't judge a book by its cover!"

The others simply stand there in shocked silence. Even Seifer. Rinoa decides to cut to the chase.

"Come on guys, let's go." She makes them all lightweight again and takes off for Garden.

As they leave, a man and a boy look up and watch them go.

"They were tougher than you thought?" asks the man, lighting a cigarette.

"No, and yes. In terms of fighting skills, I can outmatch them, both at same time. But what Squall did was… unheard of."

The man puffs for a minute. "We need him. We need to know what else he can do. This is a very serious problem. And on that note, I have an assignment for you."

__

(Squall – Balamb Garden)

Squall sits at the head of the desk, saying nothing. He refused to change out of his clothes, so they are still spattered with blood. Even with the Curaga, he still feels parts of him hurting, some of them majorly. Sitting there in silence, he waits for Seifer to start. All of the SeeD's are here, including Nida, Xu and Cid. As soon as Cid saw Seifer, he immediately placed a 'discretion rule' on all of them. No one was to say that Seifer was here and what was to be said in this room.

The other SeeD's sit equally quietly as Seifer paces the room, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he speaks up.

"Right guys. This is… a fairly unusual story. Please, some of it might seem incredible, but what I saw really happened, it will also clear up what happened to Zell, and more importantly, myself and Squall."

"See? None of you would have heard any of this if you destroyed him" snaps Squall, glaring not only at Rinoa but t the other SeeD's too. They say nothing, merely hang their heads. Seifer again, is taken aback by Squalls attitude. He sits down at the table, opposite Squall, and begins to talk.

"I went to the Galbadian City of Deling City under the orders of a party I am not about to disclose" Squall immediately narrows his eyes, but Seifer puts a hand up. "Only because I was told not to say anything, but also to get help if needed. Again, I must admit, I thought I could do it myself, until I saw what I was up against," he falls silent for a minute. 

"Simply put, this is what happened."

__

(FLASHBACK – Seifer's Mission)

Seifer, in disguise given to him by his employees, sits quietly on the train. Luckily for him, the compartment is empty. So he says nothing, merely thinks to himself.

__

Nice of them to give me this gear, but hey, free clothes is always good, plus they let me keep my old stuff, he thinks, patting his suitcase. He glances at his watch.

__

14 hours to go.

Seifer rests his eyes, and thinks of the reward he will receive should he thwart, or even find out what their plans were. Fuck, the guy promised him what he wanted most should he be successful, and he would be damned if he screwed this up.

The train stops in Deling Central Station. Disembarking and swiftly moving towards the hotel, he uses his fake name and ID to book into the Galbadian hotel. Once inside, he throws off his new clothes, and immediately places on his jacket. 

"Damn, that feels good, but I can't go out like this" he mumbles. He grabs a body-length cloak and tosses it on. Feeling the comfortable weight of everything he needs, he looks out his window, and looks at the structure being built.

__

So that's it, some kind of tower. Hmmm they told me not to bother going up, the told me it might be under it… I'll take their hints. If this guy has the kind of stuff…hopefully the counter effect will hold…

He breaks off as he notices a huge lorry, gleaming white and emblazoned with the Galbadian insignia, rolls up to the gates of the Palace, after a few minutes, the lorry disappears.

__

What the hell was that? That sure as hell wasn't a Galbadian lorry. It looked too, new or something.

He checks his watch again. 22 minutes.

__

Time to go, hopefully I will be in and out before they know it.

He leaves the hotel, feeling the reassuring weight of his Gunblade at his side, under his cloak.

Moving swiftly, he dashes behind some trees and scales the wall. Quickly vaulting over it, he lands cat-like on his feet and takes off. Dashing for the presidential palace. Looking to his right, he sees what must be hundreds of Galbadian workers, all working on different aspects of the tower. He turns away and goes into the back door of the palace. He immediately hears voices and races down a corridor to his right. Swerving round a corner, he comes to a lift. Entering it, he looks at it. Buttons lead down to a 'Lab' of sorts. He smiles, but also the thought 'this is too easy' comes into his mind. This thought is verified when the lift stops and he gets out. A boy stands there, waiting for him. Seifer, on impulse, attacks with his gunblade, but is floored when the boy disappears and levels a kick to his gut. Seifer falls to the floor. As he looks up a man shoots a tranquilizer dart into his chest. He falls unconscious.

He wakes up, and finds himself strapped to a table. Looking around, he notices hundreds of various vials and equipment. _The lab_, he thinks. _Saves me looking for it I suppose_. A man walking over to him interrupts his thoughts. Wearing an impeccable suit and smoking a cigarette, the man bends over him.

"Seifer Almasy, oh how we are glad to have you here. Now, the fun begins." 

An oxygen mask is placed over him, and he blacks out.

Seifer watches a man practice bare-fisted combat in a huge room. The room is like the inside of a black cube. The walls and floor are covered. Only one window allows light in. The boy flips and punches as if there are a hundred people around him. His speed and agility are quite impressive. Seifer maintains his stony silence. Studying the boy fighting. _I've seen Zell do a few of those moves_…

"As you can see Mr. Almasy, I am showing you this to mock you. Simply put, we have all the data we need on the 6 of you, now all we need is actual proof. But why am I saying this? You will forget soon enough."

Seifer says nothing, pretending to act dumb. He doesn't know the counter-effect is working. Neither do the scientists.

Slowly but surely the effect of the counter begins to ebb, he knew he may get captured, hell, was prepared to get captured, as he planned his escape down to the tee in his cell. He was already to go when…

His cell door opens, and the man comes in.

"It seems that some people from an old place you used to call home have attempted to try to rescue you and your friend.. How sweet. I don't know if you did something, maybe left an ultimatum date for them, but hey, they were just as daft as you. So come, I will show you what happens to those who try to cross me."

__

Friend? He thinks but has no time to dwell. 2 guards grab him and turf him out. He is bundled into a van and is driven off to some location. The drive takes a good 3 hours. Thinking they would never stop, Seifer is startled as it does stop. The back opens and the man says "Out, Seifer."

Seifer obeys and immediately surveys the situation. They are at the Tomb of the Unknown King. There are too many to take out to try to escape, plus that boy he saw practicing was there too. Seifer squints and sees 6 SeeD's. Pretty high-ranking ones. He notices a '27' on one of their badges of rank. For some reason they are not tied up, merely standing there, though armed guards flank them.

"Now!" shouts the suited man. "Here we have some SeeD's. Balamb Garden ones, the best of the 3 Gardens. Yes, even the shithole you commanded Seifer, why my father ever funded that place is beyond me…"

The SeeD's are startled by Seifer's appearance. They think that Seifer is on their side, but Seifer sends them a 'not me, them' signal that he was trained in Garden. Slowly wink and move eyes to the target. The top SeeD recognizes this. He immediately uses hand signals to do the same to the others.

"But anyway," finishes the man. "To the point. You 6 tried to get this guy and his friend here right? Or rather, try to find out what we are doing. Well, I'll tell you. After that, I will let you fight for your lives. Rest assured, it will be the 6 of you against one person. Should you win, I will let you go."

The SeeD's exchange uneasy looks.

"What you have here gentlemen, is the product of your utmost top training of anything and everything rolled into one." He gestures to the boy, wearing a long coat. "He is your opponent. Meet the perfect assassin folks."

And on that note, Seifer looks on horrified as the boy flies into them, using his head, he quickly smashes headfirst into the face of the top-ranking SeeD. The SeeD does not know what hit him, and his nose cracks right into his skull, killing him. The other 5 are suddenly thrown weapons. Their own weapons, as they were being held by some guards. Disorganized, they quickly come to as the boy stands still, looking straight ahead. The man in the suit comes up to stand alongside him. Seifer maintains his 'blank' look.

"See what he did?" he hisses to Seifer. "Take out the leader, put them in disarray, but even so, he is letting them organize. Makes it more interesting."

Seifer watches as the boy pulls out a sword. _That looks like…a Lionheart! Squall_?

The boy goes for the seeds. One SeeD, with a gun starts to fire, but he barely registers 3 bullets before his head is severed from his body. In the same fluid movement, the boy flies backwards, skewering the SeeD directly behind him with the sword. Kicking him off the sword, he spins in a circle, stopping what seemed to be in mid spin and piercing one of the SeeD's hearts with the sword. He too drops dead.

Only 2 SeeD's remain. Seifer watches, trying to keep his face straight as one of them, he too with a sword, goes for him. The boy seems unimpressed, letting the boy try to hit him, all of a sudden, he adopts the boys fighting technique, as if he knew it all along. The SeeD, confused, makes his last mistake. The boy stabs his 'Lionheart' through the SeeD's stomach, before turning it upward and pulling his sword up, the boy is neatly sliced in 2 as his body separates.

The last SeeD just stands there. Seifer looks on with sadness, he knows the SeeD cannot beat him. The boy with the Lionheart just surveys him, shakes his head, and then merely takes his head off to. The SeeD, standing there, ready for the blow, simply closes his eyes before it happens.

"Now you know what we have, Almasy. I will have this world soon. And my father's vengeance. Over her."

Seifer was bursting to turn and face him, but kept his stoic look. 

"Take him back, make him forget this."

Seifer wakes up on the table again. The images of those SeeD's playing through his mind, he hoped that they have been found OK. He closes his eyes and pretends sleep as the doors open. He hears a body being dumped onto a table next to his, not far away. The doors close. Seifer chances to open one eye. There are a few doctors, but they are not at him. He looks slightly to his left and opens his mouth in shock, as he sees a needle. A needle being pumped into Zell Dincht.

__

Zell!

Suddenly a doctor rushes over and gasses him again. He could have _sworn_ he saw Zell look at him…

__

(FLASHBACK END)

Seifer says nothing after that, merely stares out of the window. He hears a few sniffs from Selphie, who cried when he told them in perfect detail about what had happened to the 6 SeeD's.

"So that crap they stuck in me caused me to forget, but you didn't? How?" asks Zell.

Seifer grimaces. "I kinda knew that was the first question you were gonna ask me. But to answer, yes I could. Only because I was given a serum that counter-effects it. Actually, it boosts my memory so I can remember things for a longer period of time."

"Who gave you that?" Rinoa asks him.

"I… I can't tell you" Seifer says. "I'm sorry."

"I think I know who did, and I know who has hired you," says Squall. Everyone stares at him. Seifer splutters.

"You… you do?"

Squall nods his head. "It was Esthar you are working for isn't it? And I would guess that Dr Odine gave you the serum."

Seifer stares at him dumbfounded. Finally he sighs. "Yes, you're right, Squall."

"How did you know that?" asks Cid. Squall looks at him.

"I overheard that guy and a doctor talking. He spent a good deal of money and resources to have the memory-forgetting serum stolen from there. I know this because I remember sending a SeeD to investigate where this stuff went. That SeeD in question was the high-ranking one that was killed by Mirror."

Seifer looks at the floor. "Yeah, you're right. I was sent by Esthar, but please, don't say anything about that. You're not supposed to know."

No one says anything. Xu speaks up. 

"What shall we do now?"

"Easy" says Selphie." We take that place apart, get as much as possible about this guy Mirror and the guy in the suit, and then try to get them."

"We could wait till after the new President is elected," says Cid. "According to Caraway, he thinks that whoever is elected is the one doing this."

Squall says nothing, he thinks about the fight with Mirror. Suddenly a surge of anger hits him. He gets up and smashes his fist onto the table. The others look at him startled.

"You're right, we hunt them down, and mainly Mirror. He is the biggest priority. By far."

"Is he that strong?" asks Irvine, looking from Seifer to Squall and back.

Seifer and Squall exchange looks. Before Seifer answers, Squalls face twists into one of hate, and he stalks off out the door, banging it as he goes. He limps slightly, but doesn't seem to notice.

"What the hell was THAT about?" asks Zell to no one in particular.

Rinoa gets up and follows him.


	8. Seven Over Six

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 7 – Seven Over Six

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'6 is the number of evil, 7 is the number of luck, ever wondered why they are so close together?'

Rinoa dashes to the lift, wondering, just like the others, what was wrong with Squall. The lift has already gone. Sighing, she closes her eyes gently, and concentrates on Squall's image. She sees him, lost in thoughts on the lift. The lift stops and he gets out, then proceeds to the Quad.

By the time she has followed him, the lift reappears at the top. Getting in, she too loses herself in thought. _I know what's troubling him. Wow, I have never felt that before…_

***

She approaches him as he sits facing out towards the ocean. His legs hanging over the edge of the Quad. His face is downcast and very serious looking. He looks up slightly and notices the girl in blue standing next to him. He is about to speak when Rinoa places a hand over his mouth. He looks at her startled.

"Feel free to tell me to go away or something Squall, but it won't matter, I know what's wrong with you, it's up to you though, if you want to talk about it."

Squall looks up at her, face expressionless. Finally he speaks. 

"You know what's wrong with me?"

Rinoa smiles gently. "I can read your soul. It's a sorceress thing," she laughs. "Yeah, 'thing' can't really tell what it is." She stops laughing and looks at him, smiling. "I know all of it, but it's up to you, like I said."

Squall turns away and looks out to the ocean. He shakes his head, as Rinoa sits down next to him and curls an arm around him. He sighs.

"In one word Rinoa, arrogance. That's what's wrong."

Rinoa nods slightly as Squall continues. "I am angry, not at you, not at Seifer, not at anyone, I'm angry at myself."

Rinoa says nothing, but Squall knows she is listening.

"I took Mirror on, something inside me screamed you can't beat him yourself. Even Seifer said so, but no, my pride took over. My arrogance took over." He shakes his head.

"I guess that, ever since I had beaten Seifer 4 times, hell, even after I beat him the first time on my own at the Sorceress Parade, that no-one could ever better me with a gunblade. That thought buried itself in me, and that was it. I didn't 'brag' about my ability, nor was I 'cocky' like Seifer. But I knew I was the best. It just seemed to always remind me. Even though I didn't say anything. I knew."

Rinoa is looking at him now, Squall maintains his stern look out to the waters below.

"Until he came along. This Mirror guy. He beat me," he looked at Rinoa in the eyes. "He beat me fairly, and with his 2 gunblade, he outclassed me. He outclassed us both. I think it was a fluke that we are still alive to this day. A sentence he said bored into me, I think that is what is causing this anger, because it made me realize I am not the best, and that there is always room for improvement."

"What did he say?" asks Rinoa

"He said that my 'ability' was harder to learn, than go up against. It was if he said that learning how to use a gunblade was more difficult than actually fighting someone. As if I was easy."

He falls silent. Rinoa is about to speak when Squall places a hand on her shoulder. He looks at her with a look of worry, and also fear. It causes Rinoas spine to shiver slightly.

"I thought I would never say these two words in the one sentence, but I am worried and a bit scared Rinoa."

"Why?" she whispers.

"What if he comes back? He beat Seifer and me, and from what Seifer says he can fight like Zell too. He may be able to fight like all of us. If he comes back, what if we can't beat him then?"

Rinoa look at him with her mouth open slightly as Squall goes on.

"Did you know, it took myself, Seifer, a haste spell on me, a limit break, AND a finishing maneuver just to put him down for about 5 minutes? That is worrying Rinoa… and scary too, since he got straight up and was able to escape, and you saw the state of me and Seifer."

He says no more after this and goes back to watching the ocean. Shaking slightly instead. Rinoa cannot make out whether it is the wind, or anger, or fear, or hate, or a combination. She stands back up and Squall looks at her. She holds out her hand. Squall takes it and is suddenly pulled to his feet.

"Then we will prepare for him. We will train for him. We will defeat him in the end, and whoever else is in the way. No more of this 'defeated' stance, we will win."

__

(The Training Center)

Seifer readies his blade, and scrapes it along the ground at a fast pace as he runs. Zell awaits him. Seifer spins and attempts to behead Zell. Zell dives to the left and delivers a right hook, but Seifer is faster back and deflects it with his blade. There is a clang as Zells fist connects with the metal. Zell winces very slightly, but flips back…

Only to be tripped up by Selphies flail, as she joins the fray. Seifer uses his blade to stop the helicopter-spin of her flail. Selphie suddenly uses her 'barrier' magic, a huge blue-orange shield flying all around her as Irvine attempts to riddle her with bullets. The bullets dissolve as they disappear into the shield. Irvine then pulls Exeter to his left as Quistis bears down on him, but her whip snakes its way round his gun.

She barely manages to pull it back as Squall attempts to chop the whip in two as he goes for Seifer, the two of them clash blades, but are suddenly blown apart as Rinoa separates them with her magic. The others look at her as she stands in the middle of them, crossing her arms over her chest, she begins to glow. The others just watch her…

Suddenly she throws her arms open and there is a huge boom. Every one of them is thrown in a different direction and crash into something. The ground cracks and shakes as she lifts off. Spotting her first target, Zell, she goes for him, her beautiful white wings now flapping gently.

Zell grimaces and dives away, but Rinoa uses astonishing speed and, using one hand, grabs him, spins him, and throws him away again. He smashes into some trees and they come tumbling down on him. Smiling, she looks at Squall.

Squall smiles back. Rinoa notices he has his 'game face' on, but she also spots he is hesitant. She crouches slightly, noting Selphie standing just to her left, and flies at Squall. Squall readies his blade but she is already upon him. Stopping right in front of his face, she kisses him once, smiles, and then places her hands on his chest. Shaking her head slightly, she shoves him away. Instead of just falling, Squall is propelled 20 feet backward and crashes into a wall. He hits the floor.

Rinoa then spins and launches a huge blast at Selphie. Selphie mutters something as the spell hits. A huge wall appears in front of her, the spell widens to accommodate the wall. Rinoa cocks her head to one side and, while using one hand to control the blast, she throws her other arm to the left, casting Stop on Seifer. Irvine can't help but laugh. Neither can Selphie.

"That's enough!" she booms, her sorceress voices warping her own. She drops her power, as does Selphie. Rinoa walks up to Seifer and places a hand on him, muttering 'Esuna' he moves again. She then casts Curaga on Squall and Zell. Who walk up to her. Irvine and Quistis follow. Irvine's eyes glitter.

"Wow Rinoa, simply wow. You stopped all of us."

Rinoa smiles sheepishly. "I know, and it's this we must learn."

The others look perplexed. Rinoa sighs.

"You took me one one-by one. That won't work and you all know it, how did you defeat Ultimecia? It took _all_ of us. Mirror, according to Seifer and Squall, was struggling a bit with the two of them, he might be good, but he couldn't possibly beat all of us _together_" she emphasizes the last word. The others nod.

"Selphie was the only one who had the right idea, she was already coming at me when I was busy with Squall, and while she kept me busy, Seifer went for me. I don't know about Mirror, but that was a bit of a task there, casting a spell on Seifer while already using one on Selphie. Mirror might be more weapon-based, but even he has only two arms. And even he must get tired"

Squall, his face set nods slightly. Rinoa looks at him.

"Squall, what's up?"

The others, expecting a 'nothing' or 'never mind' suddenly answers...

"I remember the guy in the suit talking about he needed all 6 of us"

"So?" asks Seifer. The others also look at him oddly.

"I think Mirror can and has copied the fighting techniques of the 6 of us down to a tee. Without effort."

"Your point is?" asks Zell impatiently. Squall looks at him.

"Isn't it obvious? There's 7 of us."

There is silence as the realization suddenly hits them. Irvine speaks up.

"He doesn't know the techniques of one of us. You're sure its 6?"

Squall nods.

"That means that he doesn't know one of us enough to have learned what they can do."

There is silence, a monster roars in the background. Some look up as Seifer speaks.

"Well, As you seen the results for yourself, he can and did take me and Squall on, so that rules us out. I saw him training like Zell in a huge room. Same moves and everything. But I never did see him use any other weapon besides the gunblades. So the leaves you 4." He says looking at Selphie, Quistis, Irvine and Rinoa.

"I don't think it would be me, I mean, anyone can handle a gun easily" says Irvine. "But now that you mention it, I think it might be one of these lovely ladies. For a very good reason"

They look at him as he stands there with a smile on his face. Selphie places her hands on her hips.

"Irvine, cough it up or no 'Hide and Seek' tonight!"

The others, even Squall burst out laughing as Irvine struggles to keep a straight face, but he too laughs, his face beet red.

"I think it is one of them, because they have _unique_ abilities."

This shuts everyone up. Selphie, Rinoa and Quistis, who was very quiet, but no one seemed to notice, all nod.

"That's true," Selphie says. "We do! I have my Blue Defense magic, Quistis has her Blue All Round magic, and Rinoa is the sorceress, there's no way he can copy that! Especially Rinoa!" Rinoa beams.

"As much as I sometimes wish I did not have this power, she has a point. We have to try to figure out who can do it."

Seifer grumbles "Well seeing it's a woman who gets to kick his ass…" he grins stupidly, but that is wiped off as Rinoa casts silence on him. He frowns and says no more, obviously because he can't. Squall, lost in thought, begins to walk away slightly.

"Squall!" calls Rinoa. Squall stops and turns around. "Where are you going?"

"To train" he says simply, and walks off. 

"Squall, what have we to do now? Just keep training?"

Squall stops and turns again. "Yeah, we'll train till the elections are over, then we will have our man."

Rinoa decides not to follow him. Searching his feelings with her power, she reads exactly what he is thinking.

__

Rinoa, you're the one who can beat him. The others, they will have been learned by Mirror. You said it yourself. Weapons based. He did not use one piece of magic when I fought him. It's you Rinoa, somehow, I know it is you…

She looks at him sadly, then joins the others.

"He OK?" asks Zell.

"Yes, he's fine, let's go again, before monsters decide to rain on our parade."

Zell grins and the others take up battle positions, ready to resume training.

***

"They are starting to piece it together?" the man speaks down the telephone softly. There is noise from the other end as a voice from the receiver tells him something.

"Hmmm he had a point. But not to worry, by the time we have finished, she will be in no fit state. And thank you for telling me where to find her, she will be dealt with in due time, but first I must eliminate them, you realize they will die to protect her."

The other voice says something again. The man places a cigarette to his mouth, takes a smoke, then puffs out, blue smoke wafting away from him lazily.

"Excellent. Oh, and as a thank you, well, if you could call it that, you can destroy her husband. He is a peon, and it will be a fitting revenge. Being killed by one of his own, in his own home."

There is a spout of laughter from the receiver, then drops dead. A boy walks up to him as he places it down.

"They are preparing for you my boy, they think they can take you together. But patience my friend, after the elections, you are going hunting."

Mirror smiles. "I may have been taken by surprise by that fool Squall, but not now, I am ready for them, and anything else."

The man observes him as he looks at what he is wearing under his trenchcoat. A Save The Queen on his left, a Strange Vision on his right, a pair of Ergheiz gloves on his hands, and 2 Exeters, one at either side just next to the flail and the whip. 2 Gunblades, one gold and one silver, cross over his back. All of these except the gloves are hidden away effortlessly when he pulls the coat on. His reddish-blonde hair sweeping to just on his shoulders.

Mirror smiles. 

So does the man.


	9. It Starts With A Name

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 8 – It Starts With A Name

'Everything starts somewhere. Everything.'

Squall slept, but it was not a pleasant sleep.

__

(Dream)

He attacks with speed, Squall has Haste but still, STILL he keeps up. He flies backwards. Squall aims his gunblade, the opponent dodges out the way. He spins and gains momentum. Squall is having a hard time against his opponent. He makes out no features, it seems to be a fog of sorts, but can attack. Squall clashes swords with the fog, but it seems to vanish and reappear again. Squall somehow goes faster. Now the fog is struggling, but suddenly disappears. Squall swipes at where the fog was…

And feels something hit him in the back. Falling he feels a sword being drawn out of his back. Then his slayer flips him over. He gets one good look at the fog at last, just before he wakes up.

It is himself.

__

(/Dream)

The day had come for the new President of Galbadia to be named. Garden was functioning normally, the student's going about their everyday business. Faculty teaching and Instructors training.

For 7 individuals though, everything had stopped. These 7, along with Headmaster Cid, Xu and Nida, sat quietly round a table in front of a large TV screen. The broadcast flicked on.

Seifer especially studied it with interest. As soon as the man appeared and read his name, that was all they needed. He was going to pay that bastard back for mocking him. Big time.

Squall sat next to Rinoa, who placed a hand over his. She squeezed it gently. Rinoa was more bothered about Squall than the TV, as she felt what he was dreaming, but like before, she decided not to mention it.

A Galbadian podium, identical to the one used in the Timber TV station, was erected. Various microphones of various colors sat on top of it. Two flags bearing the Galbadian crest hung peacefully behind it. An old man walks up onto the podium, shuffles some papers, and then taps the closest mike.

"Ah we have transmission. Good," he coughs. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the world, people of Galbadia, it is time to name the new President of Galbadia. To replace the late Vinzer Deling."

Seifer sighs audibly. Irvine sniggers.

"All these candidates have promised noting but a bright and prosperous future for the Country of Galbadia, and of course, the world."

"Hmph, he added THAT quite quickly," Zell grunts. A few nod their heads.

"So without further ado, let's name the man…" he shuffles with a few bits of paper. Seifer is right up close to the TV now. Cid orders him to sit.

"The new President of Galbadia is, Vince Gilned!" the man shouts these last two words. The SeeD's sit in silence as a man walks, smiling up to the podium. A man wearing an impeccably crisp suit, square jaw, and handsome features. Squall sits there, eyes open wider than normal. Seifer pounds the table with his fist.

"That's him! That's the bastard there!" he shouts. Vince smiles again and opens his arms, in a spooky echo of Deling himself.

"Thank you, my kind people of Galbadia. I am so honored to have been given this job and title. I assure you that there will be nothing but peace, prosperity and happiness for all Galbadians! By doing this, we can turn our attention to helping the rest of the world. As a matter of fact…"

He reaches out his pocket and produces a piece of paper. He signs it, then holds it up. The camera zooms into it. The title reads:

THE DECLARATION OF GALBADIAN REMOVAL FROM THE COUNTRY OF TIMBER AND TIMBERS RECOGNITION AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE.

Under it, is his signature.

Rinoa looks at it, slack-jawed. Vince carries on, putting the piece of paper down.

"Mr. Deling, I am afraid to say, was nothing but an idiotic despot who, pardon my language, didn't give a shit about no-one but himself. I however do. As a matter of fact again, I have already withdrawn the forces from Timber. Now our soldiers can be real soldiers, helping people rather than ruining them. Oh, and the D-District prison will become a proper prison for real offenders, not for people who speak their mind. I do believe that, if Deling were still alive, I would already be in jail for calling him idiotic. He would admit to being a despot."

Zell, Selphie and Quistis chuckle at this. The others remain silent, not believing what they are hearing. Vince carries on. Seifer is listening to every word that he says now. So is Squall.

"Now that that has been cleared up, it's time for some bad news. I am afraid that the lovely tower that was being constructed, as a landmark for a new era was a tad destroyed. By a couple of certain individuals I might add."

Squall and Seifer exchange looks. On the TV, Vince face is one of seriousness.

"Now, I do not want warmongering, nor a lynch mob to go after them. As a matter of fact, I am not even going to give their names. As these 2 individuals know who they are. Yes, and I know they will be watching. Let me assure you of this, you will be found and brought to justice. What you did was irresponsible."

Seifer snorts "Yeah, right, whatever."

"And I assure you, that you will have your chance to plead your case under fair rules and in a fair environment. I make this personal because my life was endangered during this melee, but if it was not for my personal bodyguard, I feared I would have perished."

"Yadda yadda yadda…"

"Shut up Seifer," says Squall, Seifer looks at him. Squalls face is one of concentration. Seifer and the others catch what he is doing. Vince face is still one of seriousness.

"So I offer these 2 individuals this. If you see me, or send a message, we will arrange to meet, and you can plead your reasons. I'm sure you will have thought of something by now. If not and I am sorry to put such harshness on such a momentous occasions, but I will send out people to look for you. You will not be able to hide."

On this note he smiles again. "So as I said, thank you, and let us reign anew and live life to the fullest!"

He gets down off the podium and leaves as a huge babble of noise erupts from reporters. The cameras follow Vince to a door, as he opens it, a boy is waiting, before the camera is abruptly shut off. Static fills the room. Xu turns the TV off. Cid turns to them. All he sees are 5 faces of thought, and 2 of anger.

"Well, now we know. Seifer, is that him?"

Seifer snarls. "Yeah, that's him alright. Motherfu…"

Rinoa cuts in "Why didn't he give your names? Or even where you were?"

"Because he sent us a secret message through that speech of his. He knows who we are all right, and he knows where we are from. He's giving us an ultimatum."

"Ultimatum?" asks Xu.

Squall sighs slightly, and leans forward on the table. "Ok, first of all, he said ' they will be watching' he did this because he chose to go worldwide with this, to get our attention, rather than just keeping it in Galbadia then going to the world media. Secondly, he said 'we will be found' as he knows where we are, like I said before." He sits silently as Irvine speaks up.

"Got ya Squall, I wasn't paying attention but I did after. He said 'fair rules and fair environment' that means he wants us to…"

"Fight Mirror one by one, in a location that nobody would ever go to" interrupts Quistis who surprised everyone by speaking. Squall nods. 

"Exactly. Also this. It's pretty obvious he only wants me and Seifer to go. Hell, he asked for it. And if we don't, well, it looks like he'll send not 'people' but he'll send Mirror after us, because he knows Mirror can take us" he grits his teeth. "As much as I hate to say it."

"Are you going to go to him Squall? Seifer?" asks Selphie, looking a bit spooked.

The two of them look at each other again. A silent conversation passes between them. _He struggled against us, we saw it, between all that arrogance and bravado. And then there was the Limit Break…_

"I think we should send Gilned a message alright," says Zell "that we should all go and kick his ass together. Or better still, let him send his merry mob, because I'll just destroy them."

"Your confidence is impressive," says Cid, "but it's not that easy. I will say this now to all of you" as he speaks the others sit and listen in perfect attention. The fact that Cid doesn't tell them to 'knock it off' means what he says is serious.

"I have a very bad feeling that this is going to be more than just a 2-on-1 fight between this Mirror, Seifer and Squall. I fear that everyone will be involved, and I mean everyone. The whole Garden, maybe even the world."

"Why do you think that Headmaster?" asks Nida. Cid turns to him.

"Look at the facts. Look at what that tower has that Squall described. Look at what they have 'made' with Mirror. Think what will happen if he sends him and the Galbadian army. The Garden may not survive."

"Then we do only one thing," Quistis says, standing up. "We go after Mirror, or vice-versa, but draw the fight away from Garden. We fight at a place that no-one goes to, like I said before."

"Any places that fit the bill?" asks Irvine. Quistis nods her head.

"One. Only one."

"Well? Seifer says.

"The Deep Sea Research Center. In the middle of the Ocean."

No one says a thing. There is silence. Broken only by the soft noise of outside and the buzz of the lights. Squall also stands up.

"Yes, its perfect. We seem to have no choice, though I wish I knew what Gilned is playing at, not mentioning our names, and giving us a secret message." He sighs heavily. "Right, this is what we do. Send him a message telling him the place and date of our 'meeting', and tell him to bring Mirror. I am sick of this. And say that after Mirror is gone, he is too, he is going to get tried for killing those SeeD's, stealing from Esthar, and conducting secret lab tests."

"Got ya," says Xu, standing up, saluting, and bustling off out. The others begin to depart. Squall is left alone with Cid and Rinoa.

"Squall, penny for your thoughts?" the old mans smiles warmly. Squall looks up at him, serious.

"Seifer said that Gilned is going to claim vengeance for his father against someone. I have no idea who his father is, or who he is going for. I would assume it's me or Seifer, as he has been most interested in us two mainly."

Cid nods. "He has been very crafty about this. Remaining discreet and not making much noise. His name has been kept from us until now. But I think he is also worried, I feel that sending this Ultimatum after you two are a sign because he didn't count on you getting away. I think he wants to 'clean up' so to speak."

Squall salutes and turns to go, before he does, he says one sentence to the old man.

"No, we are going to clean him up. He is not getting away with this."

And he walks off out. Rinoa, silent and quietly puzzled, follows him.

__

(Squall)

He stands in the lift. He is aware of Rinoa watching him. _She probably knows about my nightmares_, he thinks. _I wonder what else she knows?_

As if on cue, she speaks.

"Squall, you sounded so, _confident _in there. You really think you will win this time? I mea…" she is cut off, as she sees Squalls face, He is grinning slightly.

" I feel we have, I mean, we have been training so long, we feel stronger. Mirror is strong, but he's not invincible. One of us will destroy him. One of us."

"What if someone dies? That will be horrible, especially if it's-"

She is cut off as Squall places a hand beneath her chin and kisses her, immediately she has her arms around his neck. Pulling back slightly, he is grinning more broadly. She too grins.

"Call that an insurance policy."

***

Vince Gilned reads the latter sent to him.

Location: Deep Sea Research Center

Date: August 24th

Time: 13:00hrs

Persons: S, S, R, Q, S, Z, I

He smiles. Everything was going to plan. He hands the paper to Mirror. Mirror grunts and tosses it back onto the table.

"I am not waiting. I can't be bothered hanging about waiting. I want him now. Squall, I want him."

Vince narrows his eyes. "I know you do, but we must-" He is shocked as Mirror smashes a fist into the table. The letter shears in two under his fist.

"No! You have NO idea how much that got to me! You said that I would not be harmed! That they could do NOTHING I can't do! Yet Squall Leonhart did! How do you know they can't ALL do what he did? I've heard stories about them, about Zell quadrupling his strength, about Irvine firing out bullets SO fast that anything near him is turned to cheese. About what that little girl Selphie can do, you said that she has the most powerful Blue Magic ALIVE! She has magic that makes me look like NOTHING! I know she will never get the chance to use it but if she ever done…"

He breaks off. Vince fixes his tie, and looks into the manic eyes of Mirror. Thinking for a moment, he decides what to do.

__

Give him his time.

"You DO realize that, when I give this order to you, our friend will not be pleased? As a matter of fact, they may decide to abandon our deal and destroy us. You know what they can do."

Mirrors eyes waver a bit. But he says nothing.

"Fine. Then I give you this order. Fuck this 'meeting'. Go to Balamb Garden, and destroy it. Bring back the 6 of them to me. They do not have to be alive or whole of that's what you want. Just bring them back."

Mirror smiles, and bustles off.

Vince watches him go a tiny tendril of fear uncurling in his stomach.

__

What have I done? They will not be pleased at this…

(**A/N:** That's all the talk over for now. The next chapter you may find a bit disturbing. But I feel that the way the story is going to be written there will be a few casualties. Don't know whether to kill a character off yet. There **will** be deaths, just a matter of whom…

All reviews/comments welcome)


	10. Devils Night

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

(A/N – This chapter has a fairly large amount of fighting, violence and carnage in it. Apologies if you find that kinda thing disturbing. Craig)

****

Chapter 9 – Devils Night

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'You don't fuck around with the infinite'

__

(Balamb Garden)

He looks up at it, in all its majestic glory. His coat closed around him, flaps gently from the rotor blades of the Garden above him. Tilting his head slightly, he looks at it further. It was so beautiful in his eyes, the golden ring whirling round slowly as it keeps the said Garden hovering. Why it was sitting here just outside Timber is beyond him, but he doesn't really care about it. All he cares about is getting inside, which wont be difficult, as there is a huge auto-ramp leading up to it. It looks like a long walk, but he will get up there eventually.

He almost reaches the bottom of the ramp. 2 SeeDs stand guard there. Ignoring them, he walks up to the start of it. The SeeD on the left puts up a hand.

"Who are-" he is cut off as the man in the coat grabs his arm, rips it out of its socket, and in one fluid movement, smashes his other fist into the bottom of his nose. The mans nose snaps audibly into the back of his head. His eyes roll back and he drops dead. The other SeeD goes for his weapon, but he simply crouches and suddenly raises one leg, booting him in the temple. His head jerks back and snaps audibly. Before he too flops to the ground. Looking at them with a small sense of pity, Mirror sets off, his head filled with one thought.

__

Such a beautiful place, too bad I have to destroy it. I don't care what they think, or Vince. Squall is dead. And I don't care what they say.

A bit further away, at the entrance to Timber, a guard witnesses the whole thing. He leaves his post and runs off, to find the SeeD's who came into town.

(Squall – Timber – 'Forest Fox' House)

Rinoa looks at the woman, her mouth hanging open as they sit in the woman's house. The same house thy used to hide in when the TV station incident happened. They are here for Rinoas purpose. Seifer also used this to be dropped off at FH, to go to Esthar where he was going to tell Laguna and company there about what is happening.

"He really did liberate Timber? I- It really is independent?" she asks.

"Yes," Mrs. Oldham, owner of the house says to her. "The troops withdrew this morning. And haven't been seen since. Only 'guards' of any sort have been our own."

Rinoa turns to Squall, Quistis and Irvine, all three collectively raise their eyebrows. Rinoa cannot help but smile.

"That's amazing! Wow, he really did do it, I mean I thought he was having us on."

"It's a damn fine vote winner, that's for sure," says Irvine gruffly. Squall agrees.

"Too right. Makes him look good. I think this is the only nice gesture we might see from him though. Apart from changing the prison that is."

"This is wonderful!" says Mrs. Oldham. "At last I can walk down the street without getting hassled." She sniggers. "One time, they thought I had a couple of grenades hiding in my bra. They just didn't accept I was a big girl."

The others laugh lightly. Rinoa hugs the old woman, and turns to leave. She is almost bowled off her feet when a guard rushes in. In almost a heartbeat, Irvine, Quistis and Squall have their weapons leveled at him. The guard shouts, panting.

"SeeD's, come quickly…an…intruder…entered your Garden."

Squall drops his weapon. "What? Take your time and explain." The guard regains his breath, and starts again.

"I saw a guy go to the ramp leading up to Garden, he just went and killed the 2 SeeD's guarding it, then proceeded to go up the ramp. I decided to come warn you!"

Quistis suddenly grabs the guard. Irvine and Rinoa look at him with horror on their faces.

"What did he look like?" She snaps at him.

"He was wearing a big black coat, and he had… long…red-blonde hair."

Squall has already tore out of the room. Rinoa chases and Irvine follows close behind. Quistis look at the man one last time, then runs out the door.

__

(Balamb Garden)

Mirror reaches the top of the ramp. Looking back down, it is some walk. But he isn't even tired. 

He wonders what he will go up against once he is inside. He knows Squall and company will be there. Just a matter of time to see how much damage he can do to the place before they arrive…

He bashes open the door. Walking in, he realizes the ramp is actually an emergency exit of sorts. A huge door leads off to his left. Judging by the breeze coming from it, it must be a balcony of sorts. Looking to his right, he sees a corridor bending away from him. He looks around again. There is no one here. Funny, no one? Could it be they knew he was coming?

No, even they don't know. They sent the letter after all. He wonders vaguely what they will say when they see him. They will not be happy, as Vince said, but he had had it up to here with the pair of them.

He wanted Squall and his friends. Especially Squall. He was not one to pussyfoot about waiting.

__

Whoever said 'good things come to those who wait' must have been a right boring bastard, he thinks amusingly.

Tapping both sides of his coat, he loads the two Exeters, then sets off.

__

Time to destroy.

__

(Squall)

He stops and looks at the bodies. Anger crossed with horror is on his face. Quistis stands next to him, with the same expression. She mutters something.

"But… the letter must have got to him… why?"

"Who gives a shit!" shouts Irvine, running up the ramp already, we have to stop this!"

__

(Mirror - The Carnage Starts)

The lift pings jauntily as the doors open. 4 students stand waiting for it. They back off slightly as they observe the boy with the long coat and hair. He smiles slightly, flings open his coat he had unbuttoned, and grabs the Exeters. With one pull of both triggers, the Pulse ammo that flies from them obliterates the students. The bullets boom into the walls opposite, leaving holes there.

Other students suddenly drop everything and look as a man somersaults down the entire flight of stairs from where the two white beams flew. He holds his arms aloft, allowing the guns to open and empty their contents. He them swings them down, a clip from inside both sleeves of his coat slide smoothly into the open guns. Jerking them closed, and with the same fluid movement, he crosses his arms, one under the other, and opens fire.

The Fast ammo rapidly guns down anything moving. Some of the students are fast though and dive away. For others though, their fate is sealed as hundreds of bullets slam into them in various areas. No one caught in the gunfire survives.

Twirling his guns, they open and the empty clips fall out. He looks and sees student and now SeeDs alike burst out of various areas wondering what the noise is. Several have weapons.

__

Good, destroying the helpless gets boring very quickly.

He jerks his arms and two glowing yellow clips fill the guns. Not caring where he is aiming, he proceeds to blast anything and everything in his path. The Fire ammo fries anything in its path. As he does this, SeeD's and students fly for cover. He flicks his left leg out and something falls out his coat. He does the same again, and a SeeD recognizes the unmistakable shape of dynamite-bombs, small devices capable of blowing a building in half if enough were deployed. He screams at the others but is cut off when Fire ammo reduces him to nothing but a charred corpse. But he had already screamed enough. Walking forward more, the two devices emanate a huge boom each, blowing holes in the floor and walls. The water in the ring pool splashes up the way and them falls back down. Some SeeDs who were attempting to attack from behind are blown to bits, as they did not see what he dropped.

He wheels round and looks as a siren goes off in the Garden. A huge high-pitched sound. He sees the source and blasts it to smithereens with one well-aimed round. He drops one of the guns as a Flare spell smashes into the ground just in front of him. His Shell flashing slightly.

Looking up, he sees several SeeD's approach him. Around him, he sees others running. Using his free hand, he quickly jerks his hand into his right pocket, and pulls out another dynamite-bomb. Twirling it over his head and throwing it behind him, it booms a massive boom. He doesn't even need to look behind him as the screams and carnage ensues. He knows what it just done.

He comes to suddenly as the first SeeD attacks him. This one has a fairly large sword. About 5 foot. Swinging it, Mirror catapults over him to avoid it. With one well-placed kick, he breaks the SeeDs back with ease. The SeeD falls to the floor. Mirror steps back and crushes his neck with his boot.

The next SeeD has no weapon. Mirror immediately assumes this must be a member of Zell's fighting style. Holstering the Exeter, he readies his fists, flicking his eyes to an object on the ground. The other SeeD does the same. Stamping his foot to his right, the SeeD drops dead. Clearly too busy looking at him, he didn't see Mirrors other gun lying on the ground. Kicking it up, he grabs it and blasts the next 4 SeeD's into nowhere, as they were standing in a group.

Reaching into his left pocket, he pulls out another bomb. He tosses it in the direction of the Quad. It flies through the air and smashes just off target at the edge of the entrance to the Quad. But the destruction is the same as before. The bang blasts several students and SeeD's into nothing. Some limbs go flying and the floor is painted red as he watches it. His other hand still blasting anything that comes near him.

Then he stops.

Something tells him to turn around. He does so. 

Standing there, just in front of some fire, is Zell. His fists are clenched, his eyes blaze hatred and anger, but his whole stance is one of calm. But ready to strike. Poised to kill.

Zell says nothing. Mirror holsters the other Exeter, and smiles. There is no one around them in the blazing fire. They have either died or escaped. But it didn't matter.

Here was one. He was the first.

"Hello Zell Dincht. Nice to finally meet you, without your brains getting scrambled."

"You are dead, Mirror," spits Zell.

"Let's find out" he says sharply, and bunches his hands into fists, his Ergheiz gloves creaking. Identical to Zells.

Zell levels his gaze and takes his stance, also fisting his hands.

__

(Squall)

Squall hears the carnage outside and runs as fast as he can. He was ready to use Haste, but he is already too close. An explosion rocks them. Irvine has his Exeter ready. He bashes open the door. SeeD's and students either scream or arm themselves. Selphie, leading several hundred of them, runs up to them. Squall immediately takes lead.

"Selphie! What-"

"Mirror! That Mirror guy! It must be! He looks exactly like you said!"

"Where?" snaps Quistis. Selphie looks at her as a junior student clutches her dress.

"Down in the first floor, Zell went after him…"

"Shit! He's dead!" shouts Squall, and takes off, the others follow.

"Irvine! Stay here and help!" roars Squall. Irvine stops running without question, and turns back to the others.

Squall looks over the bridge leading to the lift. He simply stares, as he looks at the fire and bodies below him. Several small explosions still go off, damaging the place further.

"Squall! There!" shouts Rinoa. Squall dashes to the other side as the lift opens.

Zell and Mirror are fighting, Zell is backing off, towards the Training Center.

"Where's he going?

Squall smiles slightly. "He's taking him to the Training Center. There's no-one there plus it keeps them out the way." 

No more is said as Quistis hammers the button to take them down to the first floor.

__

(Zell)

To Zell, everything looks still around him. All he sees is the guy in front of him. His long black coat covering him, but it is clear from his stance that this is going to be a pure martial arts fight. Zell knows from what Seifer and Squall have said that he is basically going up against himself.

Zell smiles ever so slightly. _This is going to be interesting._

He knows he may die, there is a very good chance of it. The best he can do is hurt him badly, or at the least, hold him till the others get here. _If he is as good as Squall says, I will need help._

Suddenly he is alert as Mirror goes for him. Right fist first it goes for Zells heart. Zell using his forearm, blocks it and he snakes a swift left at his face. Mirror uses his free hand to catch Zells punch. Bringing a knee up, he collides with Zells knee, who seen it coming. Zell quickly digs Mirror a punch in the gut. It connects, but Mirror too gets a small kick into Zells leg. Zell jumps backward as Mirror, in full flight, attempts to behead him. The fire is all around them now, like a huge ring. Indeed, just to spook Zell out, it _is_ a ring, a huge circle of fire.

Zell goes first this time. His punches and kicks are a blur. Three leg-kicks, one for the head, one for the waist, and one for the knees, are stopped in perfect unison by a leg of Mirrors. Zell merely flinches slightly, then adopts his 'fist' pose. Backside sticking out out, crouched very much forward, right leg straight out, left knee bent.

Mirror copies him. Zell doesn't even react to this, then goes for him. Booms emanate from their hands as they equal each other, punch for punch. Both men's fists colliding into each other. Neither seem to feel anything from it.

The fire encroaches into their 'ring'. Zell takes advantage of this. Stepping back further as still, blow-for-blow, their fists meet each other at various degrees of angle and velocity. But Zell is starting to hurt a little, Mirror shows no reaction. He steps back, shuffling his feet to confuse Mirror. It works for a brief moment as Mirror is caught in the fire. He backs up slightly, but this is all Zell needs, he races forward and plants a knee into Mirrors gut. He hears him wince as the wind is knocked out of him, but he doesn't see the fist racing up and with astonishing speed and power, smash into his cheek and sending him flying into the fire itself. Luckily, Zell uses his momentum to flip and splash into the water-ring. He looks around behind him as he gets up, dripping wet.

The Training Center.

Zell backs off, running backwards as Mirror goes for him. Mirror indeed still has a 'game-face' on, but there is frustration growing. Zell uses this and takes off for the Center. Out of the top of his eye, he sees 3 people look down ion him, and catches the familiar black and white of Squalls jacket.

He is distracted for a split-second too late, as Mirror smashes a fist into his stomach. He coughs loudly and a knee is smashed into his head. He feels blood on his face, as he is shoved backwards into the Center. They are in the corridor connecting it now. Zell wipes his hand quickly and uses an open palm to stop Mirrors next move. He drops down and kicks him just behind the left knee. Mirror grimaces and smashes his fist straight down into Zells arm, but Zell moves it in time and slaps Mirror in the face. Mirror actually falls and hits the ground from the blow, and rolls over. Getting up just as fast though, faster than what Zell though possible, who just got up, he attempts to push Zells face in. Zell grabs his fist with his hand. Then he grabs the other. They stand apart, their hands clasped in a 'test of strength' pose. Mirrors face is one of pure hatred and anger now, but Zell can tell he is still concentrating.

Zell screams as he bears his strength down on Mirror. Mirror yells back and pushes back. They are locked in an instant of power. The heat makes them both sweat. Blood pours down Zells face, none of it going into his eyes though. They both scream louder. Then suddenly, Mirror twists their arms downwards and forward-flips into Zell, his back smashing into him.

Zells legs buckle at this unknown maneuver. Mirror lands on top of him. Bending a way Zell never though possible, he flips up, freeing one of his hands and smashing it into Zells face. Zell yelps slightly, and attempts to roll away, but Mirror then kicks him savagely in the top of the head, a bit further down he would have killed him. Zell quickly comes to and catapults himself into a handstand, catching Mirror on the chin. Mirror again goes sprawling. Both stand apart, looking at each other. Zells head lolls about on his shoulders, but he quickly comes to. Mirror smiles at him.

"Amazing Zell, absolutely amazing. Too bad your small resistance ends here." His face suddenly falters as he looks over Zells shoulder.

Zell says nothing. But he turns around and looks at the 3 people standing at the entrance. Squall, Rinoa and Quistis. Zell turns back, and looks at Mirrors face quizzically: It is one of not anger, not hatred, nor even laughter.

It is one of fear and doubt.

"Squall, get –" Zell is about to say, but all he hears is "Zell!" from Squall as everything goes black on him…

(Squall/Rinoa/Quistis) 

Squall watches as Mirror smashes a fist into Zells head the instant he turned back around.

"Zell! Look out!" he screams but it is too late. Mirror grabs him by the hair, spins him around and smashes a knee into his back. A loud sickening crack is heard. Zells eyes roll into the back of his head and close. Mirror throws him onto the ground. He looks up at Squall, not smiling.

"That was your fault, Squall."

Squall doesn't think. He draws out his sword and goes for him.

"Squall!" screams Rinoa, but Quistis grabs her.

"No, Rinoa, Zell is still alive, we need to get him out of here now. Squall will be ok, he's drawing Mirror away."

Rinoa looks around as Mirror jumps back, burling his coat and drawing his Lionheart. She watches in awe as the silver blade flashes in the fire, which is beginning to spread into the corridor.

"Aqua Breath!" yells Quistis, and water flies out of her whole being, dousing the fire. Rinoa runs up and casts float on Zell. She grabs him and tosses him over her shoulder. She turns to Quistis, then hands Zell to her.

"Rinoa, what are you doing?" she shouts at her, as Rinoa suddenly turns around and chases after Mirror and Squall, both of whom have spilled into the Center proper.

"Get him out of here Quistis! I'm not leaving!"

Quistis simply looks at her one last time, then leaves with the comatose Zell.

As she does so, she feels the Garden rumble slightly, as if it had began to move…

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(Squall Vs Mirror)

Squall doesn't think straight. Anger rushes through him as he goes for Mirror. He doesn't care that he may be killed by him, he just wanted to hurt him. He charges after him as Mirror jumps backward a fair distance, spinning his coat and drawing Lionheart. Mirror is taken aback as Squall smashes his blade into his at an astonishing force. Mirror stumbles slightly as Squall still goes for him. Taking two big leaps backwards, he quickly casts Cura on himself. Zell did a fair bit of damage, but now he was better. His wounds healing quickly.

And quickly he needed, as Squall was bearing down on him. They smash though the gate side-by-side, clashing blades into a jungle-type area. Trees and fences surround them. Squall takes no notice. Neither does Mirror.

Mirror spins and bashes into Squall, but is momentarily shocked as Squalls blade batters his out of the way, almost causing him to lose his grip. He employs Squalls own two-handed grip and goes for him. Squall's strength seems to have multiplied and bears down on Mirror. Mirror keeps up though. The two of them seem to stand still, bashing each other's swords in a high-low-high-low movement.

Mirror dives up onto some rocks, and flips over Squall, but he is ready and nearly gets Mirror in the back. Squalls sword goes through his coat, but clangs into something metal. A flash of gold is visible from Mirrors back. Mirror grimaces slightly and swings, intending to take of Squalls head, but Squall ducks and swings upwards. Mirror blocks this blow and backs off, breathing heavily.

"Right, Squall, if it's hard you want…" he says as he grabs his other gunblade. Squall looks at him evilly and goes for him, not giving him time. Mirror is indeed flustered. He has drawn Gold Hyperion, but has barely had time to use it. He gets his rhythm though, but Squall will not let up…

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(Quistis - 3rd Floor)

Quistis gets the lift up to the 3rd floor. She couldn't get off at the 2nd, as the fire had destroyed the bridge. Getting off the lift, she places Zell down and stands over him. She realizes that she cannot use magic for his back injury. Then something else suddenly hits her.

In the carnage that had ensued, the pilot must had started the engines and let the Garden move. There was no one piloting it, and she had no idea how to either.

She looks behind her and sees the town of Timber slowly drawing away. That was the good part. Another good part is she sees a large crowd of people_. That must be the SeeD's and staff_, she thinks. _Looks like they got out OK._

But as she turns around, she realizes the bad part.

She looks on as the mountains loom into view.

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(Squall)

Squall still goes for Mirror, whose face is one of twisted anger. Both his blades aim for him this time, but Squall bashes both out of the way. Then he hears something. Rinoas voice.

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Stop Squall, I have an idea. Squall does so. And listens.

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Something is up; he couldn't do this the last time, thinks Mirror. His eyes widen as Squall stands still, his eyes closed. His eyes then glow purple and suddenly his whole body does. Mirror readies his blades as he hears a word.

"Haste."

Mirror suddenly realizes that it wasn't Squall that said it. He spots a girl in blue, but has barely time to register as Squall appears in front of him. The three blades clash in an almighty assortment of bangs and clashes. The sound of metal upon metal. Monsters that were close by actually turn and _flee_ from the carnage the two men are causing. Even a T-Rexaur, who was watching them from afar, turns and starts to run.

Power erupts from Squall, and Mirrors eyes widen. Both his gunblades are actually beginning to get dented from the barrage. This time, he takes over, going for Squall. He uses a pincer type attack, but Squall and Haste are just too fast. Squall vanishes and suddenly, Mirror finds himself booted in the side and tumbling into the rocks. He gets up as Squall disappears. Only his gut reaction stops him from being skewered like a piece of meat, crossing his blades over his head to stop him from being stabbed.

Mirror flies up and as if he cast stop on Squall, sees him. He levels both his gunblades and lets rip. Pulse ammo flies out from it. Aiming for the purple blur that is Squall. All his bullets cut a swath through the vegetation, bringing down trees and at one point, bringing down a part of the roof. Monsters are blown to smithereens as the beams cut right across their paths. The said T-rexaur that was watching earlier has its head blown off.

Rinoa watches them, then feels a rumble. She senses Quistis and what she saw, then feels her casting Mighty Guard on herself and Zell. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she did that for. Looking frantically for Squall, she sends him a telepathic message.

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Squall, you need to get out of here, and fast. The Garden is going to crash into mountains! Quistis and Zell are still inside!

Squall, ducking and dodging from Mirrors blasts as they came out fast from his blades, hears Rinoas warning. Hiding behind a tree, Mirrors ammo is spent. Haste wears off him. He pants heavily. He stands out from behind the tree to look at Mirror, who also pants heavily. Squall begins to walk toward him, readying his sword. Mirror makes Lionheart point out furthest, Hyperion just behind it. Squalls blue blade glows and cut an arc through the air. Then both of them jump and practically _fly_ at each other at the same time.

But an almighty bang causes the entire Garden to shake. Both men are thrown off their momentum as the whole place rumbles. All of a sudden the wall furthest away caves in and implodes bits of shrapnel fly everywhere. A particularly huge piece bounces off of Rinoa's shield. She hears a message from Squall. It screams at her of determination.

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Get Quistis and Zell! Now! Don't argue or anything! Get them!

Rinoa hesitates, then spreads her wings, and tears from the Center. Squall stands and suddenly ducks as, even as the Garden begins to tilt at a ridiculous angle, Mirror continues the fight. Squall dodges and goes for him.

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So be it, to the end, you bastard. Is all he thinks.

The same though is in Mirrors mind too.

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(Quistis/Zell)

Quistis braces herself and clutches Zells comatose body as the Garden hits the mountains. The first thing she hears is an ear-splitting squeal as the golden ring hits the rock, then a massive boom as the Garden itself crashes into it. A huge cloud of fire erupts and the Garden seems to stop in mid air, before it begins to fall. It is not far off the ground, but begins to tilt at a ridiculous angle. Quistis puts her body over Zells, praying that her Mighty Guard is enough as they mountain looms into view. The floor suddenly collapses and she screams. She thinks she is falling but she feels a hand grab her and lift her off. Looking up he sees Rinoa's determined face and beautiful white wings. Rinoa flies from the Garden quickly, and touches down to the ground, a safe distance away.

"Rinoa. Thank you-" but she is cut off as Rinoa takes off again, heading straight back to the Garden. Only one though crosses her mind as she watches Rinoas white wings go back towards the Garden, which hits the ground with a huge boom, causing the Earth itself to seemingly shake.

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Squall…

(Squall)

Squall falls backwards as the Garden makes another huge boom. A huge ball of fire flies out from the floor just a few feet away and races upwards, before exploding in a shower of yellow and red. Squall realizes he is in a tricky spot but doesn't have time to think. He aims his gunblade at Mirror who is advancing. He pulls the trigger and Mirror flies out of the way, bashing into the wall. Squall gets up and goes for him. The two of them are pressed against the wall, still fighting, oblivious to what is going on.

This is their last act, as the wall to their right is ripped open. Daylight streams in and both men fall to their right towards the hole. They cannot stop themselves as the Gardens tilt causes both of them to fall out. In a small mercy, the ground is only about 8 feet away, but they still both of them crash to the ground with loud thuds. Squall hears a crack and realizes he has just broken his left arm. Mirror crashes onto his back, one of his blades whacking into his face, but he flips up quickly.

Squall, astonished as to how Mirror somehow never felt that, also gets up, they both look at each other, Mirrors face a bloody red, then run as the Garden continues to come down. Had they stood there 2 minutes later, they would have been crushed.

Squall doesn't care where Mirror is, but instead he wheels round and sees a pair of angel wings, as pure as virgin snow, fly towards him. He smiles, then feels something tear into his side.

Looking to his left, he sees Mirrors Hyperion embedded into his waist, then he watches as Mirrors Lionheart is thrust into his right shoulder. He feels the cold metal puncture a lung. He looks into the bloody face of Mirror, whose face is crimson red. Then he collapses.

"NO!" screams a voice. Mirror withdraws the blades and backs off slightly, as Rinoa runs at them, her wings gone. Mirror mutters 'Haste', and takes off at high speed. Running towards Galbadia.

Rinoa drops down on her knees over Squalls rapidly panting body. Blood pours out of his wounds, he also coughs up various red droplets. Some of them thin some of them thick.

Rinoa, reaction taking over, closes her eyes, and places her hands on his chest. She summons the strongest Curaga she knows, and prays to Hyne that it will work. The energy flows through her, soft green and blue. Tears well in her eyes, as she looks at Squall, his eyes are closed now, but flickering. He coughs again, but no blood. A huge halo of warmth overcomes them both, and she watches as the wounds begin to heal. Slowly at first, then better and better. She smiles as he opens his eyes.

"Rinoa. Thank you…"

She kisses him once, then a sensation hits her. Her eyes glow blankly. Her mind is empty, then a voice talks to her, and only she hears it. Squall slowly sits up.

"Rinoa?"

She looks down at him, her eyes are glowing not their usual soft yellow, but an evil looking orange. Her white wings materialize from her back and open gently, fully extending. She floats off the ground a few feet. She closes her eyes and concentrates…

"Rinoa?" asks Squall, still breathing heavily. Rinoa looks at him, opening her eyes, and she speaks. Her voice is warped.

"Squall, even though you know this, I will never get tired of saying it to you."

Squall attempts to stand, but finds he can't.

"Say…what?" he splutters. Rinoa smiles. There is something about her smile that he does not like. There is sadness etched all over it. He watches as her wings begin to glow more rapidly now.

"I love you Squall. Forever and always."

"What? What are you going to do?"

She says nothing. Tears come to her eyes as they momentarily blink back to their own normal brown colour. Then they are gone, to be replaced by those evil-looking orange ones.

Then without warning, she takes off, at such a velocity she leaves a trail of fire and dust behind her.

Squall simply looks at the trail, and then the Garden as it burns down in front of him, the fire glowing an evil shade of yellow in the dusky sky…

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(Phew! Quite a long chapter I know, but I feel it was worth it. More carnage/action to come in the next chapter. R/R please, all reviews welcome, thanks.)

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	11. He Fears One

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 10 – He Fears One

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'No matter how invincible someone is, they always have a weakness'

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(Squall – Garden Inferno)

Squall watches her shape vanish from sight, the Garden burning down in front of him. Selphie, Irvine and Zell run up to him from a parked car.

"What the hell? Where did Rinoa go?" asks Irvine.

Squall looks at the trail of fire. He knows exactly where she went.

"She's gone after him! Come on!" he shouts as they dive into the car. He notices Quistis is missing.

"Where's Quistis? We need her!" he barks. Selphie pipes up.

"She says she would stay and help Cid, let's just go! We'll be fine!"

Squall nods as Zell slams the accelerator and the car takes off, following the trail of fire…

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(Mirror Vs Rinoa)

Mirror runs, the Haste making his legs a blur.

He knows the layout of this place very well, having studied it long enough. As he runs, he looks for signs of the 'hiding party' as he calls it, to come and get him out of here. Even though he is running and has made good distance from the site where he left Squall for dead at the Garden, he can't help but think he is being followed…

And he is. A girl flying at such a velocity that a line of fire is left behind her, burning anything in its path, is quickly gaining on him, cutting the distance with every strong beat of her brilliant white wings. She feels that she has a rocket attached to her back. Her wings hardly flap as her velocity increases. He has done a fair distance, but now she can see him.

She also knows, somehow, that she is not entirely responsible for going after him. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted to see him in pain for everything he has done.

And she would get her wish, as she opens her right hand, palm outwards, and it begins to glow…

Mirror keeps running. The city of Deling is not too far now, he can make out its outline, but closer than that, he sees several vehicles racing towards him. They must be about 10 miles away, and at his speed, he will be there in an instant…

At least, he thought he was.

A huge ball explodes in front of him, the blast, coupled with his Haste making him run into it, causes him to fly backwards and crunch into the ground. He quickly casts Cura and watches, a look of doubt and puzzlement on his face as he looks at his attacker, who lands gently in front of the inferno caused from the blast that he just ran into. A girl of about 17, with beautiful dark hair, a single blonde streak visible as it comes to just below her shoulders. She is wearing a black top and shorts, which are covered by a blue full-length dress-jacket that is pinned by one button on her chest. Two beautiful white Angel wings open and close sharply, giving her the image of an angel. The wings glow brilliantly, illuminating anything nearby. Glowing even more than the fire behind, where the colour of her eyes matches the flames raging behind her.

"Who are you? I saw you…" he mumbles openly, not thinking. He can't help but feel _something_: an aura that he has never felt from anyone else. One of good and evil, fear and hope, happiness and despair. This aura is forever changing, as if there is more than one person standing there.

"Enough mortal, isn't it obvious whom I am?" says Rinoa, speaking. Or rather her and others speaking. She cannot tell if it was her that said those words. Ever since she healed Squall and looked at the burning Garden, this force invaded her, and she did not fight it back. After all, it explained what they were there for, and after the explanation, she felt it was justified what they were asking.

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He had harmed the ones she loved. He must die.

"The Sorceress?" says Mirror, wiping his mouth and checking for blood. None, but he is dirty. Thoughts race through his mind, but they are not clear, as if her presence is warping them. He feels the small hairs over his body stand up as she crackles lightning round her, he can feel her walk in his thoughts, in his psyche, and touch his soul. The sorceress tilts her head slightly. Her eyes, still those evil fiery orange colour, open slightly, as if she was concerned. He feels a crawling in his head, as if there were ants there.

"My Hyne, you are not yourself. What did they do to you? Who else is involved?" she asks, spooking Mirror out. 

A thought travels into him. _She can read minds, No! I must not let her see who is…_

Without thinking, he grabs his swords and runs at her. The Sorceress' eyes narrow and she vanishes, to reappear again behind him. Not stopping, Mirror swivels rounds and goes for her again. Screaming, he parts his arms, swiping the blades out in an arc at either side of him. 

Rinoa watches him come, then opens her right hand again, a small blue glow comes from it. Her wings flap slightly, and Mirrors blades, aiming to chop her head off in two places, whacks into the shield, a huge dong emanates from it and it flashes a brilliant silver colour. The force he hits the shield at causes his arms to jar back, as if they just bounced off stone. He looks in horror as a chunk of his Gold Hyperion falls off and clatters to the floor. He watches it fall, but it's this small opportunity the Sorceress needs: she uses her left hand to pull him towards her, he cannot fight back, his arms are frozen in the place. Beckoning him with her finger, she turns her hand round, balls it into a fist and snaps it open. The ground shakes as he flies backwards. He calls out in agony as he rams into the wall at a speed not humanly possible. He hits the floor and drops his blades.

Rinoa vanishes then reappears at his feet. Grabbing him, she forces him to look at her, into her eyes. He closes his and to Rinoa, he feels like he is shutting down.

"Impressive, warrior," she says. "You have learned a way to stop me from entering your mind. Now whom are you working with? Answer me and I may consider not destroying you, even though you deserve it for what you have done."

Mirror says nothing, breathing heavily, he keeps his mind clear and his eyes focused, albeit closed. He has studied Sorceresses, from everything to their power of spells and the sorts of illusions and mind tricks they can do, but he had no idea how they _really_ fought. He knows how the SeeD's fought, as they all had a weapon of some sorts, but not a Sorceress. They had magic, but each was different.

Rinoa spins him round and tosses him away, he screams through the air and crashes face down, he feels his face split open again as Rinoa takes off, hovering just above him.

"So be it, warrior. You will die, then so will your chiefs." Her voice is warped so much, she is safe in the knowledge that he did not know who she was or what she sounded like.

Mirror grabs his two Exeters, loads them with Fast ammo, spins round onto his back and let's rip. The guns scream out bullets at the Sorceress, but Rinoa has already got her hand up, they rattle into the shield like raindrops, bouncing off it as if it was made of sponge. They clatter to the ground like metal hailstones. He runs out and quickly jerks them open, loading them with more Fire ammo.

"My turn" she says, twitching her fingers, they glow with fire. Mirror holsters the guns and throws his arms out. Rinoa eyes narrow as five Fire spells lance from each of her fingers. His Shell spell is rocked to its core by the force of them. Sweat pours down his face, his eyes widening as he realizes the inevitable.

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I cannot beat her. I must get away somehow.

He runs. It takes all of his training, speed and dodging skills to dodge the spells the Sorceress throws at him, one comes particularly close to blowing a third of his body clean off. Diving behind a mountain, he hears a rumble from above as a Flare spell obliterates the top half. Screaming, he quickly casts Protect as the boulders fall, they do minimal damage, but one smashes into his right shoulder and he feels it pop slightly. He unloads the Fire ammo and loads Pulse in, the most powerful bullet he has. _My guns are fast enough to keep her at bay_, he thinks_. Perhaps I can cast…_

He is cut off as a bolt of Lightning appears and destroys the entire mountain. Rocks fly everywhere, the wind from the blast sending him skidding along the ground. Boulders smash into him. One as big as a train carriage misses his head and booms into the ground next to him. He feels a set of hands grab him, spin him round and slam him into the ground. He feels something break, but he is unsure what, as a kick, with the power of about 1,000 people behind it, sends him flying. He suddenly feels himself bowling into other people, as their audible yelps are all to clear.

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Other people?

He looks up through bloodstained eyes and sees a large group of people, some are bent over him, and others are looking up and pointing weapons. He cannot move, but he knows the face of the suited man. President Gilned.

"The sorceress?" He says, his eyes wide open, looking down at the wreck that was Mirror. "I knew she was strong but…" he breaks off and screams "Kill her!"

Rinoa crosses her arms over her chest and throws them out. Her wings glow like the sun as at least 20,000 bullets ram into the shield that now covers her completely. A huge ball of electricity covers her, ripping up the ground. They keep firing, but Rinoa places her hands out in front of her and closes her eyes. Her wings glow even brighter, and the ball of electricity begins to grow. She sees the man in the suit, whom she recognizes as the President of Galbadia, bundle Mirror into a van and take off, followed by another car. She knows what they are up to, keep her at bay while they escape. With a final jerk of her hands, the ball engulfs everything around it, annihilating the countryside, the ground, the trees, then the people and their vehicles. Gilneds van and Escort are barely missed, but Rinoa, the only person still standing, sees them and takes off, her eyes blazing…

In the car, Mirror wipes his face with a cloth, as two people heal him with Cure spells.

"I didn't expect her to attack you. Damn she is powerful." Says Gilned. Mirror grunts. One of his eyes is still closed.

"I could take everyone else on, but not her, she was too much. What shall we do? She will catch up eventually."

Without answering, Gilned picks up a phone and dials a number. After a few moments, he speaks. He has to shout a bit, as a deal of noise can be heard from the other end.

"The Sorceress is immensely stronger than we and yourself thought. You are the only one who can take care of her."

Silence, then he turns the phone off.

"Rest my friend. The Prophecy is going to deal with her now."

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(Squall)

He sees a huge ball engulf everything. The car judders as the electricity in the car begins to die.

"Wow, some bloody wattage she's putting out there," says Selphie, whistling.

Squall opens the window to get a better look. His hair stands completely on end as the wind from the blast reaches them. The car begins to speed up again, as Squall sees a white streak go towards Deling City.

"We're almost there. Keep going!"

Suddenly the car dies as the sky goes black. The Sun disappears behind the Moon, as if someone intentionally put it there, to turn out the light. The darkness causes birds to twitter madly and animals to call their various calls. Getting out, a chill runs through his spine. Looking about he sees the spooked faces of the other SeeD's. Selphie looks up at the eclipse.

"But how? I studied Stargraphy, there isn't meant to be an eclipse for another 3 years…"

"Maybe you messed up? And no, no joke" says Irvine seriously, as Selphie gives him an evil look. But at the seriousness, she drops it.

"No… I'm sure… someone is doing this."

"How can you just move the Moon and plonk it in front of the sun?" asks Zell. "You would have to be pretty damn powerful to do something like that… and I doubt Rinoa…"

"Unless it's not Rinoa," says Squall in a small voice. Suddenly the car starts by itself. They dive back in and Zell takes off, they ignore the fact that the car is going again. But it is still dark.

They travel on for a few miles. The eclipse still looms over their heads. 

"Stop the car" orders Squall. He gets out and looks at the scene.

A huge charred crater about 3 miles wide engulfs his vision, he is broken from the vision by a voice.

"Squall, you seeing this?" asks Irvine. Squall looks in the direction of Irvine's finger, pointing towards Deling City.

Monsters. But that wasn't the odd thing about them. They were all heading in the one direction. As if they were _running_ from something.

"What's going on?" Asks Selphie.

"Let's go, who cares about them!" shouts Zell, as they dive back into the car and drive off.

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(Rinoa)

She sees the car, and dives after it. She uses her left hand to obliterate the car following behind the vehicle that Mirror and the President were in. As it blows up in a spectacular ball of fire, something rams into her side. Something huge. She is sent cartwheeling at a huge speed towards the ground. Her wings flap erratically and manages to steady her, but she still hits the ground, though not too badly. Flipping up, her attacker booms down in front of her. Rinoa feels not only herself, but about a further 500 screams of fear engulf her as she sets eyes on her attacker.

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That's impossible! _Where in Hyne…_

Two golden eyes stare back at her, embedded in the body of a great beast that is about 9 feet tall. It crosses its arms over its chest, and prepares to use its ultimate maneuver, which she recognizes instantly. Rinoa, not thinking, begins to summon the strongest Apocalypse spell in her existence. Something, she does not know what, is causing her to do this. She knows that if she does not do something, this thing will destroy mankind. She knows that she may die as a result of the power she is charging, but if it stops this beast, or at least slows it down, it will be worth it.

The ground shakes as her energy crackles around her. Her wings are now so white they are blazing heat. The beast is also glowing too, its red wings giving off the colour of fire. Darkness suddenly falls as the Moon moves in front of the Sun. She hears monsters call out in panic as they flee the scene, as they know what is coming.

With her last breath, she screams her spell.

"APOCALYPSE!" 

The beast booms its own over hers.

"SHO…"

Nothing more is said or heard as a huge white explosion engulfs them both. A massive arch of power rips out from them. Anything in its path is obliterated. Trees, animals, even monsters are dissolved into nothing. As it travels, a huge white pillar appears in the middle and shoots off into the sky, a blue lightning bolt crackling round it.

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(Squall)

Squall sees the white pillar, and dives out the car as it dies again. He watches as something, a black shape flying out from the middle of it. 

Then suddenly the realization hits him. He knows what has happened: somehow, he just knows.

"RINOA!" he screams as the blast, complete with a huge rushing noise, begins to speed towards them, obliterating anything in its path. They are a good few miles away, but there is no sign of the white arch slowing down.

"SQUALL! WE HAVE TO GO! IT'S GOING TO KILL US!" Screams Selphie, but Squall isn't listening. He watches it approach, as if in slow motion. The look of horror on his face, no one can see. 

"NO! RINOA!" He screams as the white blast engulfs them all…

Then nothing. Except the sound of footsteps.

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(All reviews welcome. Thanks)


	12. Echoes Of Screams

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

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Chapter 11 – Echoes Of Screams

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'Breath is like a clock, ticking' - Equilibrium

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(Mirror)

He lies there, staring at the ceiling.

He thinks nothing, says nothing and sees nothing.

Then one thought invades his mind, like water being poured over something, it runs and overlaps everything else. One word accompanies it.

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Sorceress.

He closes his eyes tightly and opens them again. The word is gone from his mind, but a sentence replaces it.

__

She beat me; she beat me, easily.

He shakes his head vigorously.

__

No worries now. She is gone. The Prophecy seen to that. But I am disappointed I couldn't do it myself. 

He falls into sleep easily.

__

(Squall - Dream)

Footsteps echo through his mind. They resonate in his ears, as if they are in a cave or something. He stands in a huge white area. Nothing but white. He cannot see where the noise is coming from. 

Suddenly a girl screams, one word races through his ears, his mind, his heart.

"Apocalypse!"

It is uttered as a whisper from far away, but then screams at him. The force sends him to his knees. Suddenly a pair of feet are in front of him, looking up, he sees Rinoa, dressed in a pure white dress, her white wings folded behind her. Squall floats? to his feet.

"Wake up Squall" she says.

Squall knows this is a dream, but he shakes his head.

"Where are you Rinoa?" he asks as she walks up to him. She takes off her chain and places it round his neck, the rings clicking together softly. She then looks into his eyes and kisses him softly, before taking a step back.

"Wake up Squall, and listen closely to those around you."

"What do you mean?" he asks desperately.

"I fought something, I cannot describe it, as if I know I fought it, but I have forgotten what it looks like, but I felt a presence from within it, and the presence caused my heart to freeze, I think it's this realization that caused me to…"she trails off.

"Rinoa?"

Rinoa looks at him sadly, a tear runs down her cheek as she raises her hand. Suddenly a huge black shape rises up behind her.

"Wake up now!"

"Rinoa!" shouts Squall.

"There's something wrong… we are being us…" she shouts, before the darkness engulfs her.

"Rinoa!" he screams.

__

(Dream End)

He lies there, his eyes closed. But he is awake.

He also thinks nothing, says nothing and sees nothing, although he can sense a presence there. Quistis voice answers his unasked question.

"Will he be OK doctor?"

"He and the others will be fine. I'm amazed they survived," says Dr Kadowaki, Squall recognizing the voice.

"Same here, that light engulfed them, how did they survive but everything around them was obliterated?" she asks.

"They might know, when they wake up," says the doctor. "What about you? You look pretty burnt yourself, how did that happen?"

"Just from the fire on the Garden, I'll be OK."

"Ok, but I think you should rest up for a bit, you look tired."

"I will doctor, thanks, anything I can do, let me know" she says. Squall hears the door open and close.

He opens his eyes, taking a minute to let his eyes adjust to the light in an unfamiliar room. As he sits up, Doctor Kadowaki comes over to him.

"How are you feeling? She asks him gently. He doesn't answer. Kadowaki decides not to ask again.

"I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be. I just want to get out of here," he says quietly. He looks around the room. Selphie, Zell and Irvine are all asleep in beds in a strange room. 

"Where is 'here' anyway?"

"Timber Hospital" says the Doctor. "They helped us get all the injured away from the wreckage. There were minimal losses from the crash."

"Bugger the crash, just how many died?" he snaps. The doctor, used to Squall's attitude, answers him.

"About 90-100 people were killed in total, maybe more."

Squall sits there in silence as Kadowaki examines him one last time. His thoughts travel to Mirror.

__

Possibly over 100 people. He was one person and he did all this?

His thoughts are interrupted as a soft buzzing comes from the door. Kadowaki picks it up and talks quietly for a minute.

"He's about to leave, just stand there," she puts the receiver down. "Someone to see you."

Squall frowns and goes to leave, and as he opens the door, Seifer is standing there. His face is white. Squall can all but read the thought that is going through his mind.

__

What happened to Rinoa?

"I don't know" he answers out loud, startling even himself as well as Seifer. "We followed her so far then…"

He breaks off. Seifer begins to walk next to him.

"We saw that pillar of light, and we were only a third over the Horizon Bridge" he says softly, as if any louder might irritate Squall. "Any clue what happened after that?"

Squall shakes his head. "No, nothing. The light engulfed us, but we somehow survived, even though it annihilated everything else, including the landscape."

"I was wondering that myself, we flew over the area after dropping supplies off, there is absolutely nothing there, just a huge black hole. It almost reached Deling City."

Squall looks at Seifers grim face,

"Show me, I want to see it."

"You sure?"

Squall does not answer him, instead he walks away. Seifer follows him.

__

(The Tower Of Deling City - Lab)

The computer screen illuminates President Gilneds face. Pages of data spews out of a printer onto the floor, its jargon alien to him, but not the scientists who are reading it and babbling notations to each other. He ignores him as he reads the status on the screen. It looks like a computer game, someone controlling a series of rotating guns to shoot down various aircraft. Another monitor shows the figure of a man, various labels pointing to various parts of his anatomy.

"Sir," says the scientist at the computer. "Mirror was badly hurt in the fight with the sorceress, it was a miracle he survived, if we had not go there, she would have killed him."

Gilned nods silently. "True, and if it wasn't for the Prophecy getting there in time, she would have killed us too. I knew she was bloody powerful, but not that powerful."

"Any word from the Prophecy?"

Gilned lights up a cigarette. He takes a long puff before answering. "They called, and they are fine, if badly shaken. They say that the sorceress was nowhere to be seen, but they had taken off before having a proper look. But by the looks of it, Prophecy did the almost impossible, and destroyed the sorceress. Though it was almost the opposite. We underestimated her to no end."

The scientist nods quietly also. Mirror enters the room, dressed only in jeans. He pulls off the various memory stickers attached to his body.

"And where is Prophecy? Having a nice nap I suppose?" he says bitterly. Gilned blinks at him.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing, just answer the damn question" he spits.

"Watch your fucking mouth boy" Gilned snaps at him. "For your information, they are resting yes, but did not say where, for some reason, apparently there may have been a possibility that, somehow, they may have been found. But not to worry, they are preparing themselves, ready to finish the job you started. You can finally kill Squall and Seifer, and the others if you wish. Remember what we are going to do once the SeeDs are gone."

Mirror stalks out the room, banging the door closed. Gilned raises an eyebrow, then turns back to the screen.

"Glad to see he's up and running about cheerfully" he says sarcastically.

__

(Squall/Seifer)

Seifer pilots the Ragnarok, having explained to Squall that Kiros had showed him how. Squall listens, but says nothing. It doesn't take long before the normally dust-desert looking landscape becomes black, and black, and black.

"Go down, let's try to land" says Squall.

"We can, already have done, where you want to touch down?"

"As close to the center as possible."

"Good chance we might not be able to stand on it" he says, looking at the fires and smoke coming from it."

"We can but try" says Squall quietly.

The Ragnarok touches down softly. Seifer runs a surface scan on the ground.

"We can walk on it anyway, temperature is cool enough, man what a hole."

The ramp clunks down, Squall leads the way as Seifer follows, closing the ramp behind him. The two of them stand there, looking in at, then up at the hole.

"How deep?" Seifer says softly.

"About 20 feet, spreading out I guess" Squall mutters. He notices something, nudging to Seifer the two of them approach it. It is a small patch of grass. A perfect circle, about 1 foot wide. A single white feather, half-burnt lies there. Squall, not caring who is there, finally feels his heart break as he realizes the inevitable. Everything from the battle, him screaming at the white light, the dream he had of Rinoa in the pure white dress, to this. He falls to his knees. 

Tears come to his eyes, finally, again not caring, he softly begins to sob. Seifer closes his eyes in silent prayer, his eyes too watering gently. Rain begins to fall slowly, then starts to get harder.

There is no noise save for Squalls sobs, and the rain hitting the ground. He clutches his chest, as if there was pain there, his hand brushes against something. It clinks gently as he places his hand around it.

A necklace with a ring around it.

He opens his eyes and looks down. The chain is long enough for him to see the ring. Rinoas ring. The one she told him her mother wore as her wedding ring.

A surge of hope fills him with warmth, the last of his tears ebb away as he studies it carefully. Seifer is crouching next to him, smiling. Neither cared that they are being soaked.

"She loved that ring. You know, she was going to give that ring to the one she truly loved, it would be her final way of showing her love for someone. When did she give it to you?"

Squall, clasps his hand around the ring. He smiles slightly.

"In my dreams."

Seifer smiles broadly, then gets up. "I'm gonna boost the ship back up, just come on when you want to."

"Thanks," he says.

Squall gets up and stands, staring at the white feather, his hand still around the ring and part of the chain. He circles it gently with his hand. Suddenly a frown comes to him. It begins to get dark.

Rain begins to pelt down now; thunder crashes above as he notices something very wrong with the chain.

Something was not there that should have been.

__

(??? - ???)

The ring is a magnificent specimen. A lions head, forever frozen in a silent roar, is emblazoned on its platinum surface. They did not know who made it or where it came from, even how Squall came to acquire it was a mystery. They look at the ring, eyes absorbing the details of it. It remains perfect, no scratches, no mark, nothing, even though Squall has had it all his life.

They flick the ring up and catch it in their right hand. Closing a fist around it, they start to read the coded manuscript, which is scattered over the desk. Written in the Centra language, and almost impossible to translate, there are a few who can.

Even with the symbols, the translation was easy to read, as they were one of the few who could. It was a rare gift, they felt very special indeed, as they could do things no-one else could do, they had power that no-one can duplicate, and also this. Surely that means the gift was from Centra itself. 

A candle burning merrily nearby illuminates the page.

At the top in one corner, hastily scribbled in the Centra language, was one word.

PROPHECY.

__

(It's a bit short I know, had a bit of writers block there, but now scribbling away like a nutter now J Update soon, all reviews welcome, thank you. Craig)

****


	13. Book Decipherer'

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 12 – 'Book Decipherer'

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'Just because you are strong, doesn't make you the boss'

__

(Squall)

He trained, swinging his gunblade through the air. These days, it felt so light to him, as if, it was his arm, as if it had a sharp point. The same could be said for the fighter alongside him. He too swung his, one handed through the air. They followed the same battle stances, the same swings, as if they were fighting next to a mirror. The only thing different was their stances.

Suddenly they sprang apart and faced each other. Squall measured Seifer quietly, then went for him. He treated Seifer as an enemy: like the way it was when they fought each other during Ultimecia. Seifer too, regarded their training this way. And indeed, they improved because of it.

"I'm gonna take a break" says Seifer. "You remember the meeting right?"

Squall nods, and watches Seifer go. 

He stands there alone.

__

Time to practice, my way. I know you are good Seifer, but I have a bad feeling that I might end up fighting Mirror on my own when I find him, so I must prepare for him, alone.

I'm sorry.

__

(4 hours later)

Squall sits in the Ragnarok, seated at a large round table. Seated to his left are Selphie and Irvine. To Squall's right Zell, then Quistis. In front of him sits President Laguna, flanked by Kiros and Ward. Cid and Seifer sit either side of Kiros and Ward respectively.

"Well, that's the whole deal then?" Says Laguna. "Gilned has this warrior, and his army is growing again. I have noticed something, he has withdrawn all Galbadian forces and brought them back to Deling City, as if he needs them there, to defend something."

The others sit in silence as he speaks. They all agree, and indeed, wonder what he is up to.

"The least we can do, is observe him for now, see what he is up to" says Cid, "as who knows what else he has planned. He has been very smart about all this. Notice that everything involving the Garden happened away from there? And we can't exactly say Mirror was from Galbadia, they will simply deny it and it will start a national argument, even international."

"True" says Kiros, "so I feel we shall at least send some spies there to watch,"

"Pointless" says Quistis, the others look at her. Her expression is set in seriousness.

"Why?" asks Laguna

"Simple, he will be expecting this. Also, and indeed, we have been lacking a lot of things, such as information."

"Like?" urges Laguna

"Well, for a start the serum they use to cause forgetfulness, how did they get it?"

"Stolen from Esthar labs, by insiders close to Dr Odine, he made sure we heard about that." Laguna answers.

"Yeah, plus that's how I wound up in that tower in the first place, because they sent me" says Seifer.

"So what else?" asks Kiros.

"Well, one of the things we need to ask is, how does he know all of our fighting techniques, if we have never seen him before? We have never seen him before, ever, and we all privately and personally created our own fighting techniques. Unless we taught him them, then there's no way he can do what he did."

There is silence at these words. Squall, quiet and thinking of Rinoa, speaks up.

"That isn't our biggest concern. Mirror and Gilned can wait."

Cid looks at him closely. "What? What can possibly come over those two?"

Squall narrows his eyes at him. "The thing that destroyed Rinoa."

He said this in a harsh voice, but secretly, he thought, no _knew_ Rinoa was still alive, he was certain of it. He would find her, no matter how long it takes. He told Seifer this, and he suggested that they act like she is gone. When asked, Seifer wouldn't say why.

Zell nods his head. Irvine and Selphie look at the floor. Quistis remains silent, as do the others, except Seifer, who speaks up to stop Squall boring his eyes into Cids skull.

"He has a point, I mean, whatever that thing was, or whatever caused it, annihilated Rinoa. I mean, what can do that?"

"A weapon? Something they have that can suppress sorceresses? Destroy them?" suggests Selphie.

"That possible? Asks Kiros.

Selphie sighs slightly, then nods. "I'm not afraid to say I am a fair bit of a geek, but also one of the things I found out about the Centra people is that they had technology, 4000 years ago." She looks around at the slack-jawed faces of the others. "But they abandoned it, but they made something, besides the shelters that turned into the Gardens. They made deterrents to magic, and weapons to use against them, also 'suppressors', huge weapons that can be used to hold and contain, or even destroy huge levels of magic."

"What did they make?" Laguna whispers.

"They made, a weapon, something that fused magic and technology together, what do you think keeps the Garden up? Is tech.-magic. The Centra people could do what no other could do. They could 'kill' magic."

Laguna whistles, Cid, open-eyed, asks, "Can this be true? Is this possible?" 

Selphie nods. "Very much so, but they would need someone who can translate Centra's language, I can, as I have read several books on it. It's all in these books. Garden have, well, had some, but there are many more scattered over the world."

"Selphie, can you remember any of those books at all? What they looked like? I understand they salvaged several books from the Garden Library, and are finding more."

"I could look for you, get back to you?" she says, getting up. Squall nods, and she turns to leave.

"Oh, the only other thing that could possibly have killed Rinoa, is a GF, and we have all those, so I'm pretty certain that it was a weapon of some kind."

"GF's are stronger than sorceresses?" asks Seifer.

"Well, some are, like Bahamut, and Eden, who is the strongest, but not all of them" she finishes and leaves the room. Silence envelops the room once more, the only noise being the lift operating for Selphie.

"Anything else?" says Cid. "We might as well use Selphie as a lead and just wait for now, help with salvage and other tasks."

The others nod. "I will go back and arrange transport for all Garden students to go to Esthar. We now know that, besides this other force, that Galbadia is the threat, so we can regroup in Esthar till we figure out what we are up against."

The others nod and thank Laguna. They file out, Squall one of the last. Quistis grabs his arm and pulls him back. Squall follows her back in, and closes the door.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, Silence. Squall knows what she is talking about.

"Come on Squall, I know you're hurting."

Squall eyes her. He says nothing.

"Rinoa would want you to open up and tell us your problems."

"Rinoa isn't here" he snaps at her.

"True, but that doesn't mean you have to shut yourself off from everyone now."

Squall looks at the floor away from her. _She had a point, but why tell Quistis? If she already knew, why talk about it?_ He decided to shut his mind up and talk outright.

"I'm just upset, I know, didn't think it was possible, tough-guy Squall gives a damn" he snarls, closing his eyes. Though his face doesn't say it, he immediately curses himself for his tone. Suddenly he is aware of a presence right in front of him. Quistis wraps her arms around him and lays her head on his chest. Squall keeps his arms pinned to his sides.

"I know you are hurting Squall, but soon, you will have to move on, I mean, you will get revenge on whoever did it to her, but until then, you shouldn't let it occupy your thoughts, it might cost you."

__

Again, she has a point, thinks Squall. He didn't feel uncomfortable with Quistis hugging him like this, he decided to follow up, placing an arm round her back. She holds on tighter.

"You know where we are Squall, you know we love you. Even though, there might seem to be a pecking order to you in terms of who loves you most, we still love you."

"I know, Quistis."

"Good." She breaks off from him, looking up at him, her arms still round him. He is not that tall compared to her. Suddenly she kisses him gently on the lips, and breaks off before he can do anything. He looks at her, face serious.

"See? Her thoughts let me get through, your mind was elsewhere, that was a point, not a kiss."

His face lightens. _Again, she has a point._

"Don't you ever get fed up proving people wrong?" he asks in light irritation.

"Nope, and it's pretty damn good." She says, walking out and leaving him alone.

__

(Galbadia – Tower of Deling City)

The tower looms over the City, only the Victory Arch surpasses it in height.

On floor 19, a man sits in a study, getting up every now and again to pace a huge bookshelf. Several books are scattered on the floor. Also on the floor is dust, fallen from the roof, as if something had been banged on the floor above. He curses as he throws another book on the floor.

"Spring cleaning are we?" says a soft voice. President Gilned spins round.

"Oh, you, I er..."

"You were looking for the Decipherer book. Have you found it yet?"

"No, not yet, even though I am certain that it was here, fuck, majority of these books, you know how valuable they are! Straight from the Archives in the library!"

The origin of the voice stands there, surveying him.

"Look, Prophecy, I'm bloody looking, you know that a few books from Centra's civilization got scattered over the world."

"I know, I am certain now the one responsible for tech.-magic is in Esthar, look at their city, and what is made of. Not just electricity runs that place, hence why they got the name 'City of dreams'

Gilned studies prophecy with narrow eyes. He was not afraid of them. Only their power.

"And to make your job worse, Mr. Gilned, one of the SeeD's can read the language too, I think."

Gilneds face turns white.

"You are sure?"

"I think so, Selphie Tilmett said she knew what the books looked like, though if she can read it is beyond me, but she must as she was talking quite openly about how Centra used tech.-magic for weapons. I can read some of the language, but not all of it. There is a part of the book I am reading I have not head nor tail of, hence why I need the Decipherer book, as it's the only translated book form Centra there is. It is about somewhere, as it was not in the Garden library, I made sure of that because I checked. The rest could burn for all I cared. But probably the most annoying aspect is the fact that the page I can't decipher is only half-complete."

"Half complete?"

"Yes, as if someone has stolen or destroyed the other half."

Gilneds face goes even whiter at the angry look on their face. The door bangs open as Mirror comes in. Fully armed, he stops, seeing Gilned then Prophecy.

"So you finally showed up" he sneers at Prophecy, "You know, I could have done with some help in that Garden, Squall almost killed me."

Prophecy smiles. "But you weren't. On the contrary, you killed him, if it were not for Rinoa saving his hide, he would have died surely. But no worries, you will kill him this time, as I shall see to it you get him alone. And Seifer, seeing as you want the two of them so badly."

Mirrors face keeps its angry look. "I don't want your fucking charity."

Prophecy snaps and glares at him, eyes glowing. "I know damn well that you do not like me, _boy_, but never forget, I am doing YOU the favour, I discovered what you are, taught you everything! How to use your talent and the skill you have! Your own talent is amazing, I wish I had it! But I do not! So be grateful I have not destroyed you because I am very close to!" the room thunders and shakes as they say this. Mirror drops his gaze, and stares at the floor. He says nothing.

"Now, Mr. Gilned, I trust you to find the book, if not fine, we shall search elsewhere. In the meantime, are your defenses running now?"

"Perfectly" he says, smiling. "No-one will get here now, unless we let them."

"Good, I shall see to it that the right people do get here, and those who come here, are dealt with." They turn to Mirror. "Do not worry boy, after Squall is dealt with, you can have whatever you want."

Mirror continues to look at the floor, not answering.

Prophecy turns and with a flash, is gone. 

"You lightened up yet?"

Mirror says nothing, and simply leaves the room, hatred and humiliation ringing in his head.

Like Gilned, he did not fear them, only their power.

__

(Squall - Ragnarok)

He sits in the pilot seat of the Ragnarok, staring out the window. The dream with Rinoa playing in his head. He struggles to think what she was trying to say at the end. He thinks of it every night, in case he dreams it again, but nothing. 

__

We're being us…

Us? Us? It had no meaning.

Maybe it was a word she tried to finish, but failed to do so.

Selphie walking in interrupts his thoughts.

"Got something for you to look at" she says, lying the book on her lap. She sits next to him in the co-pilots seat.

"What is this Selphie? I've never seen it before," asks Squall, looking at a handsome leather-clad book, an inscription on the front he cannot read.

Selphie looks at him. "You never studied History, so you wouldn't have, as it's in the History section."

She opens the book. Old worn pages creak as she turns them, she handles it very delicately, as if the pages are made of sand. Various inscriptions that Squall has never seen before adorn the pages. Some are written in the way a book should be, others are written in a landscape style. One page he is certain is written backwards, and perhaps the most unusual page he saw, was it written in a circular pattern. Various pictures shine out, but none make sense, as they look like scenery. No drawings of people are in there. There seems to be a lot of diagrams.

"The pages are written like this for a reason, only the Centra people knew what it meant. If you straightened the circular text, it would mean something different to what it actually says."

Squall head tingles slightly. "So how do you read it?"

"By reading one row at a time, even in the circle."

Squalls head gets sorer. Something tells him to turn the page.

"Selphie, turn the page, quickly."

Selphie looks at him oddly, "that's the last page Squall." She flips the book over. The book closes.

"No, it's not." He takes the book and upon touching it, a corner pops up in the page, grabbing the bit of page, he turns it. There is a ripping noise as the page separates from the books back. Selphie whimpers at the noise. But once it is open, her and Squalls eyes open in shock.

"Hey, isn't that…" she trails off.

The page is written in a circular fashion again, but it was the picture in the middle of the page that causes their shock. The text looks hastily written, as if whoever wrote it was in a hurry to mark it down.

"Selphie? Have you seen this page before?"

Selphie, speechless, shakes her head.

The text encircles the picture, of which there is only half of, snaking this way and that. Something is written in the top corner. But to Squall, he didn't care, as the picture kept his attention.

In the middle of the book, even though only half of it was there, was a perfect drawing of Squalls ring.

Neither speaks. Selphie taps him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his stupor.

"That's your ring, isn't it?"

"Was," says Squall. "It's went missing now, I don't know where it is."

Selphie traces the page with a finger. She seems to be following the path of the text.

"Can you read it Selphie?"

Selphie nods. "Parts of it, I'm not that good at it, but several words repeat themselves, and a couple of the words is a mixture of our numbers and letters. It seems that this is only one page of two, as some of the text is halved at the end here. Apparently there is a book that can decipher the whole of the Centra language, though I don't know if that book exists."

Squall reaches under the steering and pulls out a pen and paper. Selphie takes it from him without saying anything, and begins to scribble furiously.

"I'm placing them in the way they are on the book, that's how you read it."

Squall watches as she adds more. She stops after a few minutes.

"What about this one Selphie? It looks like it's separated from the rest." He gestures to the scribble in the corner. Selphie barely looks at it before writing it down. She looks at Squall fearfully.

"What is it?"

She sits closer to him, sharing the same seat. Placing the notepad next to the book's pages, she points them out.

"Whoever wrote this, it was if they had copied the original text, then hidden it, sealing it in this book, fooling everyone into thinking the back page you opened was the last one."

Squall nods, urging her to continue.

"But it was written in a damn hurry, and is incomplete. Look" she points at the first two lines, just above the circle of text surrounding the ring. It was written in English, and they could both read it. "It says this: _This record was made in a great hurry, and I must warn thou that however reads it, that this is incomplete, there is another page that tells you everything, I wrote and sealed this with my dying breath. Only 2 people will ever be able to decipher its complete contents in the future. And only the whole story can be told if both pages are placed together."_

Squall is dumbfounded. "Are you one of them Selphie?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I don't know who else can read this language. I know there are more than two now though. I wasn't the only one who studied this."

"Anything else?"

"Well, words repeat themselves. Like this" she gestures to various points in the circle. "This means 'One', that's definitely 'Platinum'. That word means 'Braveritation'"

"Braveritation?"

"Centra word for bravery" she says, continuing. "This word stands for 'Lost' and that one says 'Weapon-'"

"Lost weapon? Those two words are together," Squall interrupts her.

"Very good Squall, it does mean that," she smiles. "But it's this word-" she points to the bottom of the circle "and this word, that makes me scared, Squall, I'm serious."

"That's the words you said were numbers too."

"Yes, but even then, they spell out one word."

"What is it?"

She spells it out for him, then gestures to the way she has written it.

'GR13V3R'

"What's the other word?" Squall asks quietly. Selphie points at it, the word in the corner.

'PR0PH3CY'

Nothing is said as they both look at it. The ring in the middle, the perfect likeness of Squall's ring, seems to roar back out at them.

__

(A/N) I know, I know, too much blabbing, but fear not, for action will come soon people, thanks for all your reviews J - Craig 


	14. 7 and 13

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

A/N - All the talking finishes in this chapter, folks, time for action! (Well, obv there will be talking, but now it is definitely all action after this chapter. Craig.)

****

Chapter 13 – 7 and 13

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'You do not truly know someone, until you fight them.'

__

(Squall)

They look at the book. Selphie sits next to him, saying nothing. Squall quietly closes the book, handing it back to Selphie. Then he gets up and begins to walk around the room.

"This is…unreal. My ring, Griever, what's this all about? All we wanted was to find out if Gilned is making a weapon, and we find this?"

Selphie looks over at him. "What should we do Squall? About this?"

Squall turns to her, he was about to say, "Gather the others" but something tells him not to. A thought flashes through his mind, the thought is the sound of a girl's voice.

__

Listen closely to those around you. 

"We'll keep it quiet just now, Selphie. We have enough on our plate at the moment without this making a fuss."

"If you say so, I won't say anything" Selphie replies. She gets up and turns to leave, before stopping to look at him. "Do you think that, this could be the weapon?"

Squall blinks at her, then he slowly nods his head. "There's a possibility, I mean…I don't know. But what's my ring got to do with Mirror? As far as I'm concerned, Mirror is the weapon, but…" he puts a hand to his head. "I can't think right Selphie, I need to rest for a while."

"I know, I'll hide this book, and I'll say I didn't find anything useful. I won't talk about it until you're sure it's ok to do so."

Squall nods and watches her leave, then he sits back down in the seat.

__

Griever? My ring? Mirror? Gilned? Some kind of Prophecy? What's the connection?

He sits round in the seat proper, looking like he is studying the steering, but is thinking of what he has learned.

__

Could my ring be_ Griever? Is this the weapon that beat Rinoa, It can't be, we would know about it…_

He closes his eyes, tiredness comes over him. It was late, and he had been up for about 20 hours.

__

GF's give out distinct signals, even I could tell if it was a GF.

He rubs his eyes, deciding he needs rest, he falls asleep.

__

(The Tower Of Deling City)

Rain pelts down over the city, it seems harder than normal, as if it is unnatural.

President Gilned sits in his seat, looking out the window over the city. The window, he can barely see out it with all the water running down it. He feels uneasy. Ill, almost.

He had spent months preparing, running for presidency. All this required meticulate planning, he thought he would never get into office, but thanks to them, he did.

He looks at the dossier in front of him. Various techniques, various readouts, Str, Vit, Mag, all shine out from it. Their numbers, impossibly high, glare at him. He smiles.

He was impressed. After Prophecy came, and found out what Mirrors talent was, he thought Christmas came early. Mirror swore he would look after him, after he promised him everything he ever wanted. Which wasn't much. In fact, it was only one thing he desired, especially after he too discovered what he could do, and what his talent was.

The best possible fights, to prove he was the best.

Gilned delivered, as he saw on Floor 20, when Mirror went up against 2 of the best, if not _the_ best, in Seifer and Squall. But he also saw that Mirror was a little too enthusiastic, and he was also worried, when Squall beat him. Barely, but he beat him.

And it was worry now that enveloped his mind. As Mirror was becoming more, unusual.

He gets up and stands as close to the window as possible. Lightning flashes overhead. Again, an uneasy feeling sweeps over him. Feeling like he is not alone, his thoughts return to Mirror.

Mirror had been acting unusual since Squall defeated him and forced him to escape. He swore he would improve more and beat him. But again, he didn't. Squall too had improved, and had all but beaten him again in the Garden. True, Mirror won, fuck, he _killed_ Squall, but the sorceress saved him.

Gilned frowns, _I think that's when he went over the edge, I feel._

The sorceress Rinoa had almost destroyed him; she batted him about like he was nothing. It took Squall, Rinoa and all of their friends to destroy Ultimecia, the one thing he was grateful for, as if it wasn't for them, he wouldn't be in this office right now, in a way. But now, after a while, they had all improved so much, especially Squall and Seifer. Mirror took them both on and almost lost. He took Zell on, and got a bit of a beating. He took Rinoa on, and got pulverized.

He could see where Mirrors anger was coming from, he said he should have taken them out like it was nothing. Hell, he was scared almost, at what they could do. Especially the girls, who all had unique abilities that he couldn't copy. 

Now that he though of it, they _all_ had techniques that he couldn't copy.

Gilned nods to himself. This was his anger, this was why he was so mad, and also, he felt, the reason why he doesn't like Prophecy, mostly because they did what he could not, and that was take out Rinoa.

He sits back down, he sighs.

__

I owe them so much, he thinks. Prophecy came here, with a brilliant plan that even he couldn't fathom. A plan to take out every single one of his enemies, and theirs.

He thought it was too good to be true, but he also had doubts. About what was going to happen when it was all over.

What would Prophecy do, after it was all over, and the bodies of all those he hates, and owes revenge to, are lying dead at his feet?

That was another thing, he didn't even know Prophecy's name.

__

I guess I'll find out soon en-

His thoughts are interrupted as Prophecy appears in the room out of nowhere, scaring him.

"You know, if everyone could read minds, they would be very interested in what you're thinking, I could hear you from way off, hence why I am here."

Gilned composes himself. "I was just thinking, about you, and Mirror." There was no point in trying to lie. You couldn't. Not to Prophecy anyway.

"I know" they said quietly, "which is why I am here, to answer your questions. You do not owe me anything. You have already paid your debt, by gaining power and making this fine establishment. That's all I wanted."

Gilned smiles slightly "But what about the proj-" Prophecy puts a hand up. Lightning flashes overhead, again, it was unnatural, as if it was _angry_, or something.

"That, my dear President, is indeed the reason I am here." They reach into their coat, pulling out a blue folder. They walk up to the desk and sit it down in front of them. Gilneds face, illuminated by the lights, goes whiter than the lightning outside.

"Is this?" he whispers.

Prophecy nods.

"Tomorrow night, it will start. Esthar is getting involved more and more now, and you know how strong Esthar is. This would cause problems for us."

Gilned nods. "I shall inform Mirror."

Prophecy nods again. "Tomorrow, none of our enemies will walk this Earth no more."

They vanish, Gilned stares down at the blue folder. Staring at the 3 words that make up the title on the cover. He grabs the phone, and dials a number.

"President Gilned?" says a voice.

"Professor Diaode, gather your associates, it is time."

"For, sir?"

"7 years luck, professor."

He doesn't even bother that the receiver clatters down on the phone at the other end. Putting the phone down, then picking it back up, he dials one more number.

"Yes Sir?"

"Mirror, 7 years luck, tomorrow, at 8pm."

Like before, the phone clatters down.

__

(Squall – Ragnarok)

Selphie jerks Squall awake

"Squall! Squall wake up! Gotta get to a meeting! Quick! Passenger area!"

Squall shakes the sleep off, irritated he was woken up, but the urgency in Selphies voice quickly makes that disappear.

He hurries down to the passenger area of the Ragnarok. Upon entering, he sees Zell, Seifer, Quistis, Irvine, Xu and Selphie, all seated in front of headmaster Cid and Laguna. The look on Seifers face tells him this is all business, not just another meeting.

"Squall, good, be seated" says Cid. He looks uneasy, as if he too had been awake, but, unlike Squall, had not shrugged it off yet.

"I'll get to the point, we received another letter this morning, about 30mins ago, from President Gilned."

Squall sits up more, perfectly listening, as are the others. Cid carries on.

"It simply says, _Tower, 7:45pm. Bring your best, any attempts to counter, or any attempts to deny, will be dealt with by force. The same applies for any outside helpers you have_."

Squall narrows his eyes. "They want a war with us, but quietly."

Cid nods, Laguna steps in. 

"Also, they are talking as if we are going to step in to help, somehow, I think they know that all the Garden students are in Esthar. I think they will attack Esthar if we try anything. How they know that is beyond me"

"Then don't," says Seifer, "we do as the letter asks. By the looks of it, this is the last time we go up against Mirror. This is what all this is about."

"Also, who knows what they have in there, I mean, they might have booby traps and everything." Selphie says. Upon finishing, she and Squall exchange looks, Squall shakes his head slightly. Selphie nods. She falls silent.

"What should we do then? Charge in there? Gun-ho" asks Irvine " I for one would like that."

"I don't think we need to charge in, as we are being 'invited', says Zell. "At least, it looks like that."

"Squall?" says Cid, looking at him, Squall stares at the floor. Something, he doesn't know _what,_ niggles him. Apart from the ring and the book, Rinoa's dream still plagues him, especially about what she was trying to say. No, _warn_ them about.

"This could be a trap, but at the same time, I doubt it, when myself and Seifer fought Mirror, there were no traps, we fought him, basically, fair and square. No tricks, no nothing, just a room and us."

The others nod.

"Then fine, I'll take you to Galbadia in the Ragnarok" says Laguna. "Yes, I'll fly, if they know it's me, because then they won't try anything, unless they really want to fight Esthar, but I doubt that."

"You have 13 hours to prepare, make use of it" says Cid, the others salute and leave. Squall looks at Laguna and Cid; the two of them turn away and begin talking. Laguna eyes him oddly. Squall salutes then leaves.

He walks down and looks over at the room below. Zell and Selphie train, watched by Quistis. Xu says something to her them leaves. Irvine is nowhere to be seen. Seifer walks up to him and stands alongside him.

"Squall, you ready? For all this? It's quite sudden."

Squall nods. "I've been ready for a while Seifer, it was just a case of when they would act."

Seifer raises his eyebrows.

"You've been ready for a while? You hiding something?"

Squall looks at him. It wasn't annoyance on Seifers face, it was curiosity.

"No, I just feel I have done everything I could do." He looks back down at the training. He feels a bit sad for not telling Seifer what he has been up to, but his instinct tells him, regardless of what happens, he and Mirror will cross swords again. But the thing is, Squall is almost certain they will be alone. Like they were at the Garden.

And he is ready for him. Mirror will be surprised when they do meet again.

__

(13 hours later)

It was time. Squall sits quietly in the back of the pilot's area. Laguna and Selphie are seated at the front, piloting together. Quistis sits just behind Laguna, Zell just behind Selphie. Seifer stands in a corner, staring at the floor. Irvine stares out the window, standing as he usually does between the two pilot seats.

An uneasy feeling, which has plagued him from the start, seeps throughout his system. SO many questions bomb his mind.

__

Why was that letter so abrupt?

What was going to happen when they got there?

What will they go up against? Other than Mirror?

The last question bothered him most of all. He idly clasps the ring and chain round his neck. He thinks of Rinoa, about what happened to her, and about what could have done it. He had spent the last 3 hours thinking about what could have done it. If this were a while ago, he would have said it was ridiculous, these thoughts he was having.

But after reading that book, and Selphie translating it, it was all beginning to come together. Some thoughts he would have dismissed as crap were beginning to make some startling reality. Of course, there was a possibility this was a load of garbage. The book was written what? 2000, 3000 years ago?

He felt ill. He used to get nerves, but not like this.

"Holy shit, look at that!" yells Laguna. Squall immediately stands up. His eyes widen as he observes the black pillar that is the Deling Tower.

The tower seems to be growing, as if someone has grabbed the top and has begun to stretch it. But then it stops. Suddenly several poles rise up and stick out horizontally from the tower, they circle it, all around it.

"What…is that?" mutters Laguna. Squall recognizes what they are. Having seen them being 'delivered' when he broke in first time.

"They're cannons" he says, the others look on in horror as they glow slightly. The Ragnarok hovers there just in front of it, but the cannons don't fire, though they look as if they are ready to. Rain lashes the ship.

"Hey, there, we've to go there," says Selphie, pointing down at a figure, holding 2 landing lamps. The ship lowers and lands gently.

"Landed man, let's go," says Seifer.

__

(The Tower)

They disembark, and several dozen armed guards accost them. Squall narrows his eyes as they see that they are threatening, but won't fire. He leads as Seifer, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Quistis follow behind. They stop and look back as the Ragnarok takes off; Zell taps Squall's arm.

"Don't worry, he did that on purpose, he's away to tell the others what they're up against."

"Esthar should stay out of this" hisses Squall. The rain pelts down on them as they are escorted to the bottom of the tower. Squall looks up as the cannons remain pointing out. Then they are ushered inside. As soon as the SeeD's are inside, the doors bang closed. Zell immediately goes for the nearest guard, taking him out with one punch. Irvine uses Fire ammo to fry the others. They are about to charge when a voice laughs at them, accompanied by some clapping. They look at the end of the corridor. President Gilned stands there, just in front of the lift.

"Well done, well done. I knew you were going to do that," he says cheerfully. Squall and the SeeD's begin to walk towards him. As they approach, Squall notices that Gilneds face suddenly loses it's grin, then begins to go pale. He wonders what is going on, but suddenly his smile is back in place.

"So good of you to come. You know why you are here."

"We're here to destroy you, Gilned, and your mates" Seifer hisses at him. Gilned snarls at him.

"Time will tell boy, time will tell."

"Bullshit, your mate Mirror won't take all of us, that's for sure" spits Irvine. "He's good, but he's not unbeatable."

Gilned smirks and nods. "True, but it won't be all of you at the one time, and for your cheek, I'm not going to tell you what I mean by that," the lift jams open, then suddenly Mirror dives out, with one well-placed round, he floors Quistis with a shot from his Exeter, Quistis screams and hits the floor.

"Quistis!" shouts Selphie, as laughter from Gilned and Mirror echoes round the room. The lift doors close and the lift leaves just as a round from Irvine's Exeter, blows the doors to nothing. Quistis coughs.

"Go on, I'll be fine, I'll just use White Wind to heal" she gasps.

"You sure?" asks Squall, looking down at her, she is bleeding profusely,

"Yes! Now go! Get him!"

The others turn as the other lift pings down. As the doors close, he sees Quistis sit up and cast a spell.

"She'll be fine. She'll catch up with us," he says.

"Squall, what do you think he meant when he said it's not going to be all of us?" asks Zell. Squall looks at him.

"I don't know, but I think the answer is just about to find us, not the other way around."

His answer is confirmed as the lift stops, at floor 13. The doors open, and they refuse to budge, seeing no other option, they bustle out.

The room is round, and the light is dim, but brightens suddenly, light coming from the ceiling. To Squall, looking round, it looks similar to floor 20, but it is not, as there is no windows. Actually, there is nothing else. Mirror stands at the other end, smiling slightly. The others are about to go for him when he places a hand up. Suddenly something forces Selphie through a glass wall that has appeared in front of them. The wall touches floor to ceiling, and looks unbreakable. Only Selphie stands on the other side.

"What the hell!" shouts Irvine, Selphie turns round to them, they can hear her, even though the wall is there.

"I don't know, I think-" she cuts off, as Mirror calls her name.

"Selphie, let's see what you can do. Oh and guys, I wouldn't try to break that glass if I were you. Any spells or attacks will rebound off it and hit you back, you have been warned."

He presses a button and various parts of the wall flip round. Various shinobou line the walls, Selphie sees the Morning Star, the Flail, a Strange Vision, like her own, and various other versions that she has never seen. One of them is even on fire.

"What the hell?" mutters Zell.

"This is a training room," says Seifer. The others, even Selphie, look at him. "This must be the room where he learned how to use the shinobou."

"Quite right, Mr. Almasy, and seeing as you were impatient and weren't prepared to listen to President Gilned, I will explain it all now."

They fall silent and look at him. Selphie watches him the most intensely. She has a gut feeling she knows what is going to happen.

"President Gilned said you would not be fighting me together, this is true. As a matter of fact, young Selphie here will be the first to go against me, one on one."

Selphie doesn't even flinch as she grabs her Strange Vision from her back and swings it expertly in front of her. Mirror takes off his long coat and throws it aside, to reveal a white vest over blue jeans. He grabs something from behind his back, and unveils his own Strange Vision. Selphie takes the time to study his physique. She notices a tattoo on his left arm.

__

I've seen that kind of tattoo before, but where? She thinks. Mirror talking interrupts her thoughts.

"Only 5 people in the world apparently own this kind of weapon, and only 2 people have ever mastered this version. As in, the Strange Vision version of the shinobou, the most powerful. And, as you can see, the only 2 masters are standing face to face. Now Selphie, you do realize that this will be the last fight you ever take part in, unless you can kill me."

Selphie says nothing. A small nerve screams at her, then begins to spread its poison. She tries to bat it down, she succeeds.

"Say goodbye, Selphie, to your friends, and your life."

He goes for her, Selphie screams at the top of her lungs and charges at him. The others can do nothing but watch, as Selphie flies into what could be the last battle of her life.

__

(Talking done! Action now folks, reviews are welcome! Craig.)


	15. Selphie Vs Mirror

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

__

Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 14 – Selphie Vs Mirror

__

'Death does not necessarily mean failure'

__

(The Tower of Deling City – Floor 19)

President Gilned watches Selphie, the girl in the yellow dress, fly for Mirror. He feels the tower shake slightly.

"Man, she's got some power for her size." He mutters to the presence next to him.

"They all have. This should be good, even I have never truly seen Selphie fight at her maximum."

__

(Floor 13)

Selphie flies for him, her flail boomerangs through the air. Mirror grits his teeth and flicks out his own flail. The two Strange Visions wrap around each other. Selphie mutters something as Mirror goes to run into her. Her blue Protect shield flashes as he bounces off it, unraveling his own Strange Vision for hers.

Selphie snarls and flies in the air, spinning around at high speeds, shinobou outstretched. Mirror dives backward, just barely able to flip his own up as they clatter into each other. Selphie barely touches the ground before going for him. Mirror is caught off balance as Selphie flicks her weapon out and takes Mirror off his feet. He winces slightly as he hits the floor, but dives out the way to avoid having his skull caved in. He swings his own out. Although she has a Protect shield on, Selphie goes spinning to the side and bashes into the wall. She runs to the left as Mirror's shinobou clatters into the wall. He is aware of only a scream as a Firaga spell screams at him. Using his speed, he dives out the way as it smashes into the wall. The wall almost melts away, but a steel surface remains under what was there.

Mirror eyes open as he sees Selphie charge up another spell. He is a bit flustered as he sees the normally happy-go-lucky girl in the sunshine dress snarl the most evil look at him, before firing another spell. Firing up a Shell spell, he lets it thunder into him. He is further flustered as it slams into him at quite a velocity and with some amount of strength. This moment of surprise almost causes him to drop his Shell. He quickly comes to and beats off the Firaga.

__

Fuck me, she's strong! How in the hell did she get this power? I mean-

He is cut off as, through the smoke, she charges him. Selphie will not let up. Thoughts of hatred race through her mind. She is focused, determined, but she is also slightly fearful. She knows he is good, and this is what made her decide to go head in, full on. It seems to be working so far. 

Selphie twirls her Strange Vision in her left hand. Stopping, she addresses him. She smiles sweetly. Mirror looks oddly at her.

"Mirror, would you like to know something?"

"What? Cut to the point. I got things to do."

"You know how you know all of our techniques?"

Mirror snorts. "So?"

"You really don't know shit." She continues to smile at him. He shakes his head.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, prove it then. You DO realize I am only toying with you?"

Selphie closes her eyes briefly. "I know, but now, I think this will give you a reality check."

Mirrors eyes narrow as Selphie mutters something.

"Triple."

The others watch from the other side of the glass wall. Irvine whistles.

"Shit, she's improved! Man, I don't think Mirror knows what's hitting him."

Seifer shakes his head. "He's toying with her, you just heard. But now I think it's going to heat up."

"What is she doing?" whispers Zell.

Selphie continues to twirl her shinobou in her left hand. Suddenly her right hand is ablaze with fire.

"What? More Fire spells? I can stop that easily you know" he smirks.

"Not this kind of Fire spell" she smirks back at him. Mirrors face is one of brief shock as she moves her fiery hand into her spinning shinobou. She mutters something and it fires into her weapon. But instead of burning it, the speed of the spin from the weapon causes it to _split_, and the Fire fragments go straight for Mirror. Mirror flings out his hands as they bounce off his Shell. He grits his teeth as she runs around him, circling him. With the Triple spell aiding her, she is able to fire multiple Fires at him, which multiply even more when fired from her weapon. Mirror clutches his fists together and intensifies his Shell as Fire rains on him from all angles. Selphie takes this opportunity to cast Shell on herself. Casting Scan on him, she notices that he has forgotten to cast Protect. Selphie uses this and rams into him, foot first. Using a long kick similar to Zell to bash into his stomach. Mirror gasps as the wind is knocked out of him. He hits the floor with a thud and rolls backwards. Selphie screams again and casts one of the strongest Flare spells in her arsenal: it rams into the ground just in front of the rolling backwards Mirror, but that is enough as the red magic envelopes him. Mirror himself screams as the spell engulfs him, throwing his hands up. A huge bang emanates from the room. The glass wall doesn't even budge, as the others look on, slack-jawed, at Selphies fight. Even Squall has his eyebrows raised at Selphies quick thinking.

"I taught her that one!" smirks Zell. "She always did like to learn martial arts one day, so I said I would show her."

The others look on as the smoke clears. They see Selphie dance round the room, bobbing on her toes and still twirling the Strange Vision.

Mirror fires some kind of blast at Selphie that she has not seen before. But with animal-like instinct, she jumps up in the air and spins her weapon around her. The blast bounces off her flail and crashes into the farthest wall. A hole appears there. Rain from outside starts to come in, along with wind. Smoke envelops the room once more.

Mirror suddenly flies out of nowhere and launches a barrage of attacks at her with his own shinobou: they both move at high speeds as Selphie, still with an angry, evil look on her face, blocks all of his attacks, twirling her shinobou in front of her, figure of eight style. Mirror flies backwards, and grabs the other Strange Vision. Selphie stops and watches him. Her face says no emotion, but a droplet of fear enters her. It took her years to master the shinobou: hell, she was still learning with this version. The one thing about the Strange Vision was it was a bit unpredictable. It was almost as if it had a personality of its own. It knew if you were not good with it, it would not be good with you. How in the hell could he handle two Strange Visions?

Her thoughts are answered as he twirls both, expertly. Acting as if he has used this weapon from the day he was born. Blood trickles from his nose.

"Like I said, this is the last fight you ever take part in."

He goes for her. Selphie elongates her own weapon and begins to use it to block most of his attacks. Some get through, but her Protect holds strong. He smiles as he suddenly throws one of them away. Leaping backwards, still grinning, he calls out to her.

"Oh, Selphie! Look at what I can do!"

Selphie looks at him, panting, the last barrage took its toll on her. She cannot cast Cura yet, or Regen, as Shell is still in place. Her eyes widen as he begins to twirl his Strange Vision in his _left hand. _He mutters one word.

"Triple."

"You gotta be kidding me," she says, as Mirrors right hand ignites with Fire. He slowly begins to move his hand towards his weapon.

__

But…how? She thinks. She backs up and recasts Shell, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. _I only just mastered that move a few weeks ago!_

"Oh, I think you will need it stronger than that, little girl," Says Mirror mockingly. "You see, you used Fire, I will use, this!" he yells, as the Fire spell in his hand suddenly triples in size. Selphie looks on in horror as Mirror utters the word she was going to say, but he adds more on the end.

"Firaga. Goodbye, Selphie Tilmett."

He launches the Firaga into his weapon. Like Selphies, it does not melt, nor does it break, the Firaga spell rips into it and separates, and all as one charge for her. She flings her fists up as they smash into her, the heat is unbearable as it washes over her. She sees Mirror casting another two spells and then starts to run. Selphie has her arms extended at either side of her. She spins around on the spot watching as he casts a further 3 Firagas, using the same method. Her Shell spell begins to waver. Suddenly the Firaga dies out. Her Shell spell wobbles, and is almost gone.

"Die!" screams Mirror as, to Selphies horror, he launches a Flare spell at her, not in the normal way. He uses his _shinobou _to bat it at her like a baseball. Selphie screams as it rams into her Shell, her spell breaks as it smashes through it. She thinks nothing and sees nothing, as suddenly she ignites with power, instead of Fire…

"Selphie!" Screams Irvine as the Flare spell ignites and flashes, the others close their eyes as it booms out, the force of the spell hitting the glass wall. It spreads over the wall like butter over toast. Then dies down.

What they see, causes their mouths to open wide, even Squall opens his mouth in shock.

But their shock is nothing compared to Mirrors.

Selphie crackles with power, her normally bouncy hair is flowing around her. Her eyes glow a brighter green than they usually do. Yellow lightning crackles around her. Her face snarls as she walks towards him. He readies his weapon.

"Triple Flare" he yells, as they lance out of his hand. He launches the last two at the same time. Selphie herself screams and uses her shinobou, twirling it round her head like a helicopter, to bat the first out the way. The next two simply fly past her, blowing holes in the wall. Mirror barely has time to react as Selphie wallops her Strange Vision into his Protect shield that he just cast. The last time she did that, it barely moved him, but this time he goes flying into the glass wall. Ramming into it at quite a force. Energy crackles round her. She looks up at Squall. Squall nods in understanding as Selphie mouths two words to herself.

"Do Over."

"What's she doing?" yells Zell, as Selphie leaps backwards, dodging the various Firaga and now Thundaga spells that Mirror is launching at her. Squall answers solemnly. His voice sends chills down their spines.

"She can't beat him, so she is going to use her last card. And she knows this."

Irvine grabs him. "What do you mean, she can't beat him! Look at him! She's pounding him out there!"

Squall merely shakes his head. "She is giving him a rough time, but he isn't really going at it yet, all he needs is to find his balance. Because Selphie has been going non-stop at him, he has barely had time to get himself together. But when he does, this fight is over."

Irvine looks at the fight, as Selphie, still crackling, mouths 'Do Over' again and again. Mirror tears after her, but she is fast enough to keep him at bay.

"What's she going to do?" he asks him.

"She is going to try to do The End."

Seifer looks at him hastily "You're kidding! She'll kill us all!"

Squall looks at the ground. "Also herself, because she can't control it, even if she casts something else, it will still kill her. You know what happened when she used it against Omega."

Seifer thinks. He had heard this story from Selphie herself. She _had _died when she used The End, but not before Rinoa had teleported them all out of there first. Then Rinoa went back and was able to revive her before her bodily functions really shut down.

Irvine looks through the glass at Selphie, still muttering 'Do Over.'

"She's slowing down," he says.

Selphie runs rings round Mirror, keeping him occupied. 

__

'Wall', 'Haste', 'Shell'… 

Mirrors Triple seems to be lasting incredibly long, as he launches attack after attack at her. He seems to have an infinite supply of magic. She only knew people that could do that were people who used B…

Suddenly a Flare spell smashes into the wall next to her. _'Cura', 'Curaga', 'Shell', 'Barrier', 'Rapture', 'Ultima X 2'…_

She realizes she cannot hold on much longer, as another Flare spell is launched. This time, it smashes into her, she is sent sprawling to the floor, at the feet of Squall and co, separated by the glass wall. Mirror runs at her.

Irvine crouches down and looks into her eyes, she looks up at him and words something to him as a single tear runs down her cheek. Irvine feels his heart break, as she nods at him. Squall and the others grab Irvine as she climbs to her feet, and spins round. Irvine understands what she is about to do, and calls for the others to cast the strongest Shell they have. Irvine is the only one who knows what she said. As she gets up and faces him, facing the inevitable.

She never managed to get The End, so she will settle for hurting him at best.

Her energy crackles around her, blowing Mirror off his feet. He gets up as the Limit Break is activated. He stands there, unsure what to do. He casts Regen, Shell and Protect as Selphie, blood from her face mixing with her tears, utters her final words. As the power from this will kill her, and there is nothing she can do about it. 

"Ultima, X 2."

Mirror reads the words on her mouth, and screams as he clutches his fists together. The Regen is already healing him, but not at its full potential, thanks to the Shell. He sees her smile slightly as she vanishes.

A huge white and yellow glow appears over his head, he crouches and throws his arms up. The spell presses down on him, and as soon as it touches, it explodes over him. The huge green mushroom cloud bangs into him. Screaming for all he was worth, the Ultima rips into his Shields, but they hold, despite the savage beating they are receiving. This Ultima he is up against is the strongest he has ever seen.

He collapses as the explosion vanishes. There is nothing but black smoke around him. He staggers to his feet as another Ultima begins to appear. This one, he wasn't sure if he was going to survive this…

A figure appears in front of him and crouches down in front of him, throwing their arms out in front of them in a wide arc. A huge blue-orange shield appears in front of him, engulfing them both, the Ultima spell explodes, as the figure crouches slightly more. Mirror looks up at the figure through half-closed eyes. They seem to be having no trouble with it. As it explodes and engulfs them, they use _one hand_ to hold the spell off, while using their other hand to flick something at Mirror. Mirror suddenly feels his shields break. Looking up in horror, he sees Prophecy standing there, the Ultima spell gone. Thick black smoke engulfs them. Prophecy gets right in his face.

"One down, 4 to go." they say, and upon saying this, throws a spell over him, washing him in warmth. Prophecy disappears. 

Mirror suddenly feels amazingly strong. As if he had never fought. The smoke clears. Looking round, he sees the glass wall, and the horrified looks on Squall and his friends faces. He smiles at them and looks at the floor a few feet in front of them.

Selphie lies there, lying flat on her back. Walking up to her, he realizes that she is quite dead.

He looks up sharply as Irvine snarls at him, rage bursting through him, using his voice to make this clear.

"You're dead Mirror! You are DEAD!" he screams. 

Mirror laughs, as he realizes what Prophecy had done. Even though he did not like them, he was impressed.

"Then you know where to go," he says, pointing upwards. He walks away towards the end of the room. Irvine watches as he presses a stud in the wall. Two doors open. A lift is behind it. He smirks at Irvine as the lift doors close.

"Bastard! I'll KILL HIM!" Screams Irvine, bashing the glass. Squall and Seifer grab him and pin him to the wall. Irvine struggles against them. He then tries to cast Full-Life on Selphie, but the spell dies as it touches the glass wall.

"Look! We know! But we have to get going!" shouts Seifer. Irvine stops, and closes his eyes, breathing heavily, he runs to the lift and bashes it. The doors open and he runs into Quistis.

"Ouch! Steady!"

"Sorry Quistis! This… I've…" he sobs loudly as the others go in, unable to say or do anything to comfort him. Quistis was about to ask what was wrong, when she realizes Selphie was not there. Squall is last to go, but he hears something before he gets in.

__

No matter what happens, keep going.

He wonders where it came from as the lift doors close, leaving the room in absolute silence.

No noise is heard, save for the wind and rain coming in from the holes in the wall.

Even that goes quiet for a brief moment, as the lights in the floor suddenly blink out.

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(Selphie fans don't get too pissed at me! Craig)

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	16. Irvine Vs Mirror

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 15 – Irvine Vs Mirror

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'Revenge is a dish best served cold'

(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 14)

The lift goes up, it seems to take an age. No one says anything. No noise is made except for the occasional sniff from Irvine, and the lift going up.

"Who is going to be next, you think?" asks Quistis, breaking the silence. "I am sorry I could not help."

Squall shakes his head. "There's nothing you could do, the glass wall we were standing behind, we couldn't break it, for fear of spells rebounding on us. Or the magic might die, as we saw with Irvine's Full-Life."

"So what now? Quistis has a point, who's next?" asks Seifer.

Squall shrugs. "I don't know. Even worse thing is, we can't dictate who will fight next. They have the say on that."

"Me, I'm going to kill him," snarls Irvine. Squall places a hand on his shoulder.

"If you fight him next, which looks likely, but remember, he will try to take advantage of you because of your emotional state. He will know to use that against you, your anger will cause you to make a mistake."

Irvine snarls, then closes his eyes. Settling down, the lift stops. He walks quietly out the lift.

The room is similar to the one below, in terms of light and shape. The walls are again, windowless. Mirror stands there at the far end, finger resting on a button. Squall guesses that the room will show the weapons that will determine who is next. But the most alarming thing is the fact that Mirror appears unharmed from his fight with Selphie. In fact, it looks as if he hasn't fought _anyone_ yet. 

Squall steps forward. "Mirror, cut the crap, I know you want me and Seifer, so just take us on and be done with it."

Mirror smiles. "No Squall, I was promised a fight against each and every one of you individually. It was all I wanted, and also one of the reasons why this tower was built."

Seifer snarls "you know damn well you couldn't take us all."

Mirror face falters slightly. Ignoring Seifer, he gestures to one of them with a finger.

Irvine.

"Come, gunslinger, you are next."

Irvine nods his head, and walks forward. The others go to follow but again, the glass wall appears, blocking them. Irvine turns to them.

"Don't worry about me, I'll see to it he doesn't get the chance to heal this time. It's the least I can do."

Squall nods, and watches as Mirror presses the button. Again, parts of the wall flip around. Various guns adorn the walls. Ammunition line one of the walls in racks. Irvine takes no notice. He never takes his eyes off Mirror. Studying him like Selphie did before, he notices the two Exeters on either side of Mirrors legs. Irvine makes a mental note of this.

"Are you ready to die, my friend? I'm sure Selphie would like the company."

Irvine does not react. He let's his 'assassin' nerves take over. The nerves he uses whenever he lines up a shot. It keeps his body still, calm, quiet. All mental and physical action is blocked from his mind as this kicks in. A form of tunnel vision comes to his mind, and Mirror is at the end of that tunnel.

These nerves have only faltered once, when he went to assassinate Edea.

He has never faltered since.

"No talk? Fair enough. I know what you are doing," Mirror finishes then too falls silent. He copies Irvine as his right fingers twitch slightly, ready to draw.

Irvine never takes his eyes off of Mirrors. There is absolute silence in the room.

His hand is a blur as he goes for his Exeter. His movement almost unnoticeable as he grabs his weapon with his left hand and tosses it to his right. Letting rip as soon as it touches his fingers…

Squall and the others watch as the room flies ablaze with gunfire. Bullets stick into the glass wall and then falls, leaving little holes where the bullets were. Squall watches the wall, rather than the fight. A thought crosses his mind, it was just a matter of trying to relay it to Irvine…

Irvine's hands are a blur as he lets rip with his gun, Exeter twirling in his hand, firing at all angles. Trying to hit the blur that is Mirror. Mirror does not have Haste on, but the bullets fail to meet their target, just missing him instead. It is then Irvine's turn to dodge as Mirror pulls out his other Exeter. Leveling the two guns at him, he lets rip. Irvine tears around the room, dodging the huge blast that comes from Mirrors guns. A fiery glow flashes from them. Irvine recognizes this as Fire ammo.

Running alongside the wall, he quickly swaps his gun from his right hand to his left. Still firing, he grabs some ammo off the wall. Looking down he sees it is Fast ammo. Mirror sees nothing but a blur as Irvine jerks his gun open and loads it. He quickly throws up his arms and casts Protect, crossing his two guns over each other. Irvine aims his gun and holds the trigger down. The bullets fly out his gun at an incredible velocity, hammering into Mirrors Protect. Mirror grits his teeth and dives to the floor, rolling forward and moving to the left, circling Irvine, his plan is working as Irvine moves away from the wall with the ammo. He then quickly tosses one of the Exeters away and grabs some ammo. Not looking to see what he loaded, he prepares to fire. One bullet flies out and blows a hole in the wall, just where Irvine was. Mirror verifies this as AP ammo.

As Irvine circles round more, he hears Squalls voice.

"Irvine, try to get Mirror to hit the glass wall with his AP, do it!"

Irvine pretends not to hear, but flicks his left hand, a SeeD way of signalling yes. Irvine stops firing. Mirror levels his gun at him, smiling.

"Go on, cast Protect, Shell, whatever, this bullet will go through it anyway, then through you."

Irvine smiles. "I won't cast anything, but you still won't hit me."

"We shall see. Although this ammo is slow, it is also very accurate. I hope you are good at being one step ahead of me Irvine, I know how you move, everything."

Irvine drops his smile, and runs as Mirror fires, the AP ammo whistles past him and smashes into the glass wall. To Mirrors horror, the wall cracks and a hole appears. He looks up as Irvine goes for him, using the small distraction to level his gun right at his heart.

"Dodge this, asshole" he shouts as he fires. Mirror grimaces and, somehow, manages to conjure up a Protect spell. Irvine hesitates slightly as he notices something.

__

He didn't even move his hands! How did he do tha…?

Nothing more passes through his mind as he feels his jaw break. All he sees is lights as Mirror flies at him and uses his Exeter to smash into Irvine's face. He hits the floor, unconscious. Mirror walks up to him and presses the gun to his head.

"Say hi to Selphie for me."

Suddenly he is blown off his feet as a Flare spell smashes into him, he screams and flies to the other end of the room, skidding along the floor and bashing into the wall. Quickly coming to, he sees who attacked him. 

Seifers hand sticks through the hole in the glass wall, the damage caused by the AP ammo.

"I don't think this wall is gonna save you now, asshole" he smirks, and casts Life on Irvine, who wakes up and shakes his head.

Mirror grits his teeth and stands up. Irvine follows suit. He notices Mirror is unarmed. Suddenly jerking his arms, 2 small pistols fall into his hands. Mirror looks at them with surprise on his face.

"Something told me you wouldn't know about his little trick," he says. Without hesitating, he lets rip. Mirror mutters something and disappears. Irvine recognizes the familiar purple blur of someone who has Haste on, but with Mirror, he moves unbelievably fast. The fastest anyone has ever seen. The others watch in awe as Mirror races round the room, almost completely vanishing. Irvine recognizes two medium handguns vanishing from the wall. Deciding to follow suit, he too casts Haste, and vanishes.

The others can no longer see anything apart from two purple blurs. Gunfire rips out from nowhere, from various corners of the room, even one point from the ceiling.

"Man, how can he move like that?" Zell whispers in awe.

Squall looks straight ahead. _Damn_, he thinks. _He could keep up with me when I had Haste on, and this is _him_ with it on? This, has just got a lot tougher now…_

The world is a blur of colors to Irvine. But with his keen eyesight, he spots things no one else can, as one of the advantages of being a sniper was the ability to spot the minutest of details. Even with Haste on, and damn-near invisibility, coupled with an ability to keep up with a moving target, Irvine is able to see Mirror. His bullets barely miss him, but he feels he is missing because Mirror is reacting slightly faster than he is, thus causing him to dodge and aim wrongly at the last minute. He knows Mirror is good, but he didn't know he was _this _good.

Mirror sees the familiar light-brown colour of Irvine's trenchcoat burling around him. A couple of times he even managed to hit it with bullets. Irvine is proving to be more of a handful than Selphie.

A thought hits him, _Irvine is moving at the same speed as me, I would cast Stop on him, but Seifer or one of the others will simply Esuna him… hmm let's see…_

Irvine decides to fire just ahead of Mirror, but suddenly Mirror disappears, Irvine realizes he has stopped, and lands just in front of him. Suddenly Mirror grabs the Exeter from the wall and fires, not at Irvine, but at the glass wall. The Pulse ammo booms into the wall. And, to his astonishment, causes it to break. The ammo explodes over the wall, Irvine yells, as Squall and the others are covered in the white blast.

"Squall!" he shouts, turning to look at the blast.

That was his last act, as suddenly a bullet tears through his back. He feels a gun pressed against his back, placed precisely where his heart is.

"A true gunman never takes his eyes off his target, regardless of what is going on around him. He never leaves the target until it is destroyed."

Irvine simply closes his eyes as he realizes he made a mistake. For the second and last time. 

His last thought is of Selphie, as a bullet, a plain, simple normal bullet, blasts through him at point blank range. He feels his heart stop as the bullet lodges in it.

He collapses, and lands on his back.

Mirror looks down at him, and watches him die. Then he turns and heads for the far-end elevator. The doors open, then close as he sees Squall and the others rush towards him. 

Squall stops running, then looks down at Irvine, his eyes are open, but he is already dead. Quistis falls to her knees, sobbing.

"No… Irvine…"

Squall, without hesitation suddenly grabs her and drags her to the lift; she does not fight him, as she realizes it is no good.

"Squall! Let's help him!" yells Seifer.

"We can't! I assure you, let's go!" he shouts back as the lift appears. Zell and Seifer are surprised with Squalls attitude. They both run for the lift as they join him and Quistis in it. It goes up.

"Squall, how could you be so cold to Irvine! There may have been a chance to save him!"

Squall snaps at Zell "because I have my reasons! We have to stop Mirror. I know it looks harsh, but he is our biggest worry. Irvine knew what he was getting into!"

Seifer and Zell are stunned by Squalls voice. But both nod together. Squall had a point.

Squall curses his attitude, but he has a good reason, he thought of the voice that spoke to him after Selphie died. He was thinking that they weren't alone in this mission, somehow.

As soon as the lift doors close, floor 14 suddenly blacks out as it too plunges into darkness, and once again the room falls deathly silent…

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(All reviews welcome thank you. Craig)


	17. Zell Vs Mirror

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 16 – Zell Vs Mirror

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'A weapon doesn't make the man.'

(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 15)

The lift pings as it stops at floor 15. Squall and the others disembark. Seifer motions for them to stand flatly against the wall, as the lights come on. Seifer immediately recognizes this room.

It is unlike the others. A single window is to their left in the wall. The rain and lightning flashes outside angrily. The rest of the room looks like the innards of a black cube. Totally square, save for a part at the back, which is raised. A glass window is above it, as if it is an observation platform. Seifer recognizes this as the place where he first saw Mirror.

__

Zell is to fight next he thinks. Indeed this is verified as Mirror appears, pulling on a pair of Ergheiz gloves.

"Zell, you're next. Come here," he says darkly.

Zell narrows his eyes and begins to move. Squall grabs his arm.

"Wait" he whispers, "let's charge him together, that way the glass won't have a chance to spring up on us."

Zell nods, but suddenly the glass wall does shoot up. Zells hand is almost chopped off had he not moved it. The glass wall _moves_ forward, pushing Zell into the room.

"Nice try Squall, but I was ready for that one since the start." Mirror looks at him smugly. Seifer spits on the glass. Quistis watches with a frown on her face.

Zell looks at Mirror, as he bobs up and down on his feet briefly. Slamming his fist into his other palm and back, cracking his neck roughly. Zell smirks and copies him.

"Time to finish what we started in the garden, boy" says Mirror, going for him without hesitation. Zell is ready and dives out the way. Mirror changes direction midair and throws a punch. Zell wheels round and catches it in his left palm. Closing his hand over it, he sharply grabs Mirrors arm and jerks it into him, raising his knee. Mirror reacts faster than Zell thought and grabs Zells knee. Quickly disengaging his hand from Zells left palm, he punches Zell in the gut. Zell winces and falls to the ground intentionally, taking Mirror with him. Mirror loses his balance and falls with him. Zell yells loudly and throws Mirror away with his right leg. Mirror careens backwards and slams into the glass wall upside-down. He hits the wall with quite a force and a crack appears. He barely has time to register as Zell is upon him. Fists rain down on him as Mirror, pinned against the glass wall, takes the barrage. His teeth are gritted as he attempts to block Zells attacks. He blocks the majority of them, but a couple hits home; one gets him in the stomach. He doubles up, only to be smashed in the face by Zells knees. He winces loudly and feels his nose break. Not looking where he is going, he ducks down as he hears Zells fist boom into the glass wall. Shards of glass fall on him as he places his own hands on the glass. Using his hands as a springboard, he smashes both feet into Zells ribs. A snap is heard and Zell finds himself flying across the room, thudding on the floor heavily. He shakes the cobwebs from him and gets up quickly. Mirror stands at the other end. Blood trickles from his nose and mouth. No longer smiling, he begins to walk forward slightly.

Squall again observes the hole made in the glass. _Looks like magic can't harm it, but physicals can. Hmmm…_

He is distracted as Zell and Mirror fly at each other. They seem to be fighting in mid-air for a brief spell as they rain blows on each other. Their legs and arms are blurs as they block and throw: grab and free: punch and kick. Both hit the ground on their feet and continue the fight. Their fists colliding with each other in various degrees of strength and velocity. Their legs too play a part, also going in the same direction, velocity and strength as their fists. Zell runs backwards as Mirror moves at him. Zell dives up and runs _up_ the wall, spinning in mid air and kicking Mirror savagely in the side of the head. But again, Mirror displays speed unknown and manages to get an arm up to block. It still does damage though as he is sent cartwheeling backwards. Landing on his feet, Mirror charges. He is practically horizontal as he smashes a left into Zell. Zell crosses his arms over his face to stop the blow. Falling to the floor in one swift movement, he kicks upwards with both his legs; they connect in Mirrors ribs and he flies so high up he hits the ceiling. Zell flips to his feet in one swift movement and dives up after him.

Mirror slams into the ceiling and begins to fall. He sees Zell coming and curls into a ball. He actually begins spinning in _mid-air_, speeding up with each spin.

Zell looks wide eyed and stops, dropping down to the floor, but he barely touches the ground as Mirror flies into him, still spinning in a ball. Zell smashes into the wall, and is crushed further as Mirror rams into him. Mirror flips backward and lands on his feet upright. As soon as his feet touch, he is upon Zell, but Zell quickly comes to, and the exchange of blows as before is continued. The room seems to shake as they collide and exchange blows. This time Zell is pushing forward.

Squall sees blood pouring out of Zells temple, but Zell is unabashed by it. They both move across the floor at speed, hitting the glass wall again. This time they are facing side-on to the observers. Seifer whistles and Quistis gasps as Zell screams and goes faster. Mirror yells too and also picks up pace. Zell then backs into the glass wall, blocking Mirrors attacks. A couple of times he doesn't; he merely dodges them. Squall somehow manages to read what Zell is doing, as Mirrors fists collide with the glass wall, more cracks appear. At one point Mirrors fist almost goes through the wall, sticking into the glass. Zell, with animal-like instinct, smashes his arm up and breaks Mirrors right arm. Mirror screams in pain and wallops Zell with his left fist with a force unknown, lightning crackles round it at it drives into Zells skull. The force is so powerful that Squall and the others hair stands on end. Zells head caves through the glass, and he falls to the floor, unconscious. Mirror yanks his arm out with another scream and hits the floor, clutching his broken arm. He stammers as he tries to say a healing spell. But he is distracted as a huge boom emanates from the glass wall. He looks up in horror as a huge chunk of glass falls off the glass wall: Seifers gunblade cutting the glass out. The hole is big enough for a man to get through. Mirror realizes this as Squall suddenly steps over Zell and goes for him, anger flashing in his eyes. Mirror dives to the left, but barely has time to react as Seifer torpedoes at him. Eyes wide open, he kicks Seifer, causing him to fall to the floor. Rolling backwards, he bowls over Squall. Quickly flipping up, he runs for the end lift. He barely makes it in time, as Squall is right behind him. The lift doors band closed, but not before Squalls gunblade puts a hole in the door. The point almost pierces his chest. Mirror quickly grabs a small circular object, presses a button and throws it through the hole. He then slumps into a corner, bleeding profusely and holding his broken arm…

Squall skewers the door and yanks his gunblade out. He looks down at the small circular object on the floor. A dynamite-bomb. A timer set for 1 minute is ticking down. Wasting no time, he races back to the others.

"Quick! Get him to the lift! A bomb is about to go off!"

Seifer hauls Zell over his shoulder, but as the lift pings open, the blast engulfs them all. Quistis throws out their arms to shield them, but the blast blows them all off their feet. Zells body hits the ground, the blast causing Seifer to drop him. Seifer and Squall tumble into the lift. The doors suddenly jam closed, but the lift does not move. Smoke billows all around them.

"Quistis! Quistis!" yells Seifer. Quistis voice carries through the doors.

"I'm fine! How are you?"

"We're OK, what about Zell?"

"He's OK, he's out cold though" she says quickly.

"We'll try to get these doors open-," says Squall, but is cut off by Quistis voice.

"No Squall, Go! I'll stay here and tend to Zell, I can douse the fires with my Aqua Breath and heal us both. Besides…" she coughs, smoke seeps through the door. "If I'm not there, I won't fight Mirror, and that means you two can!"

Squall exchanges looks with Seifer: he nods and yells, "Got it! Take care!" He looks at the wall, pulling out his gunblade, he says to Squall. "Stand back. I'm sick of this thing dictating where we've to go."

He swings his gunblade down and smashes the metal panel off the lift wall. All the buttons glare at him.

"Where to?"

Squall looks and presses Floor 17. Seifer looks at him curiously.

"If one of us were to fight him last, as it was meant to be, then this would be one of the floors, plus the smoke is getting dense in here."

Seifer nods as the lift takes off, the smoke clears out. There is nothing but absolute silence.

"Hey, you hear that?" asks Seifer; his face lined with concern.

"Hear what?"

"That's the thing, nothing. Everything went…quiet there, even the lift."

Squall nods. "That's the least of our worries. We need to get going."

The lift pings open. The room is in total darkness. Again, the lift refuses to budge. Squall and Seifer step out.

"Don't move any further, until we know what's in here," mutters Seifer. Squall nods quietly, but Seifer appears to know anyway. The darkness envelops them. They can barely see each other; the only light in the room is from the lift. Suddenly the doors close and the room plunges into total darkness.

"Could use some light in here" whispers Squall. Seifer grunts.

"Yeah, ah fuck it, to hell with this cautious shit, let's light up the room." Squall somehow sees Seifer raise his hand. It begins to glow softly, as the Fire illuminates the room. Suddenly a thud is heard, shaking the room. Both of them wheel round. Squall looks on in horror as the Fire spell in Seifers hand suddenly flickers out. The only thing he sees before it goes black is a huge black _something_ smashing into Seifer. Seifer screams and the thuds grow, as if something is running. Suddenly a huge crash is heard. Squall watches in horror as part of the wall caves in as Seifer is thrown _through_ it, his speed causing the wall to crumble into dust, a huge snap emanating from Seifers body. He screams, blood flying from his mouth as he disappears from view. Squall goes to run, but stops, wondering and looking round, in case the enemy is still in the room. A noise is heard, a rushing sound, then silence, save for the rain outside. Not caring what may be in the room, he races to the hole in the wall. Looking out it and down, he sees Seifer, lying in a pool of blood on the rampway joining the tower and the Presidential palace, about 5 floors down. It is a good 30-40 feet down. Squall can tell that Seifer did not survive the fall. 

He jerks back in as the lights come on. There is no one in the room, except Mirror. He stands there fully healed. No injuries from the fight with Zell appear on him.

__

What in the hell! Squalls mind screams. Mirror laughs at him. Squall, snarling, stands upright, drawing Lionheart. Mirror stops laughing, narrowing his eyes at him.

"You're the only one left Squall. And before you say it, Quistis has already been dealt with, as is Zell. As is Seifer, he makes a fine pavement, by the way." He laughs some more. Squall charges him, but suddenly another glass wall shoots up. This time Squall has the majority of the room. Mirror smirks and goes to the lift.

"Time to give you what you want Squall." He says solemnly, not a trace of mocking or mirth is in his voice. His face is set in a serious tone. Squall spits at him.

"Your blood, Mirror, I will kill you."

Mirrors eyes narrow. Pointing above him with one hand.

"Floor 18, go there Squall. Nothing will happen to you, until you get there. Then you will get your fight with me. Take your time. I shall be waiting."

He steps into the lift and disappears.

Squall stands there; the room is silent, save again for the rain and lighting outside. He closes his eyes, and thinks. Thoughts of hate and hope fill him. Thoughts of fear, desperation, death, life, love, sorrow. All these emotions and many more flood him one by one.

He looks at the lift. One floor up, was the cause of all his hurt. True, President Gilned was to blame also, but he did not cause half as much damage as Mirror has. Mirror has tore everything away from him. His home, his friends, his love. The only thing he could possibly take now is his life.

And he was going to make sure that Mirror was going to try to take that the hardest way possible.

He opens his eyes, then closes them again. One thought at a time enters his mind. Each one fueling him, urging him to end this.

He thinks of Garden, and the students and staff who died. Over 100 people.

He thinks of Rinoa, and what happened to her. He thinks of a white pillar of light engulfing him.

He thinks of Selphie, who gave her life to try to at least hurt Mirror, to give the others a fighting chance.

He thinks of Irvine, who also practically sacrificed his life so the others could get through the glass wall.

He thinks of Zell and Quistis, both apparently killed by Mirror.

He thinks of Seifer, of his dying face and blood-curdling scream as he fell to his death.

He thinks nothing after Seifer, walking up to the lift and bashing the button. It opens creakily. Pressing floor 18, he lets the doors close, and the lift goes up. He so easily could have gone back down to the other floors, to check on Zell and Quistis. But part of him believed Mirror. As everything he has said he has backed up. 

The lift stops. Squall steps out into a fully lit room. This room is massive; it must be at least 15feet high. Mirror stands at the other end. Both his gunblades crossed over his back. He does not take his eyes off Squall. Squall also refuses to drop his gaze, boring his eyes into Mirror. Nothing enters his mind as he looks at him. Mirrors hair sways slightly.

"It is time, Squall Leonhart. You know what is going to happen."

Squall says nothing. He slowly, deliberately, unsheathes Lionheart. Mirror carries on.

"This is your last fight. None of your friends could beat me. You yourself, have fought me twice before this, and lost. There is such a thing a third time _un_lucky you know."

Squall rests his gunblade against his leg and takes off his jacket. He throws it into a corner of the room. Mirror backs up and presses a button on the wall. Like in Selphie and Irvine's fights, parts of the wall flips round. Various Gunblade line the walls.

"Give my regards to the others and to those who will be joining you, when you see them in the afterlife, Squall" he says. He reaches behind him and draws out Lionheart, its silver glints in the light. Reaching out with his other hand, he slowly draws out Hyperion, its gold surface throwing light particles over the room.

Squalls eyes never leave Mirrors. Mirror flicks his hair back.

"Goodbye, Squall, may the best man win."

Squall remains silent and flies for him. Mirror dives in the air and charges Squall.

Squalls battle had begun.

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(All reviews welcome thanks. Craig)


	18. Squall Vs Mirror

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

****

Chapter 17 – Squall Vs Mirror

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'Nobody knows you better than you yourself.'

(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 19)

President Gilned sits in a seat. Ignoring the fact that the room is shaking slightly. He watches on a large TV screen, images being transmitted by a hidden camera, the fight between the two boys, happening just in the floor beneath him. One hand smokes a cigarette, the other hand drums on the desk.

"Please don't do that." Says a voice next to him. Gilned does not turn around, nor does he flinch. He was too used to them doing that now.

"Sorry, you think Squall will win?"

"I do not know. I know he has vastly improved since the fight at Garden. Also, I think he has been training in secret. I don't know why though, what can he do that's a big secret?"

Gilned looks up at them. "You think so?"

They nod. "Yes. Don't worry though, I feel Mirror will win."

Gilned turns back to the screen.

"And if he doesn't?"

There is a long pause. The room shakes again. Gilned begins to think that they will not answer. Suddenly they do.

"Then I will personally kill him, as I did with Seifer and Rinoa."

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(Floor 18)

The battle had begun. The exclamation point being the room thunders and shakes as Squalls Lionheart collides with both Mirrors Lionheart and Hyperion. Mirror screams and swings his swords expertly. Each blow pushing Squall back, despite Squall blocking them. Mirrors mind is focused, determined, and ready. He knows this is the last fight. Squall will die here; but the silence from Squall makes him uneasy. He doesn't even hear so much as a grunt from him as the swords ram into his, nor even a sharp intake of breath.

Squalls eyes never leave Mirrors. His arms seem to go invisible, his sword swings and flashes in front of him. His picture is one of colors. Colors of blue, gold, silver and red flicker and flash in front of him. He sees it all in Mirrors eyes; the look of determination and focus. It seems nothing will dent that stare or the passion and ability in which Mirror fights. But Squall thinks of all those fallen thanks to this man. The thoughts of him make him strong, and he begins to drive back Mirror. Despite the fact his opponent has two gunblades and is handling them like he was born with them attached to him, Squall presses back.

Mirror spins round and distances himself from Squall. Scraping both gunblade along the floor, leaving gouge marks in it as he races towards Squall. Squall stands there, waiting for him. Mirrors eyes widen as he realizes that Squall doesn't even have a guard up, but he does see Squalls lips move. He swings both blades up. Squall reacts like lightning and brings his own blade up to stop them. His arms are flung upwards as the swords collide. Mirror watches them go up and uses his speed to try to skewer Squall with his Hyperion. Suddenly he feels pain as Squalls boot lances into his stomach. He instantly recognizes a purple shadow fly from Squalls hand, but not before the fist smashes into his face. He goes flying as Squall disappears, suddenly reappearing behind him and swinging his sword, aiming for his head. Mirror swings his own Lionheart upward and takes the blow. Squall vanishes and slams both feet into him again. Mirror gasps as Squall swats Hyperion out the way. Balling his strength up, Mirror pushes Squall off him and flips up, but again Squall has vanished. 

Gut reaction again saves Mirrors skin, as Squall appears behind him to again attempt to turn him into a piece of meat on a pole. Squall then launches into a frenzied attack. The Haste is no longer on him, but the speed at which he moves at makes Mirror grimace and move back faster. He tries to distance himself between them, but Squall keeps up, still expertly swinging his Lionheart in various angles and thrusting it at him at various degrees. Mirrors Lionheart blocks them, but not easily. He leaps backward further. Squall stops and points Lionheart at him, arm outstretched. Mirror looks on half shocked.

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He…he is using that gunblade as if it is made of paper! He was nowhere near as good as this the last time!

Squall notices Mirror breathing heavily. He too feels a bit tired, but he trained himself to hide it, and to go further. Watching Mirror, he knows that he is not toying. He really is pushing Mirror. He smiles inwardly to himself. But he doesn't allow it to go to his head. Lionheart shimmers in front of him, it feels like paper to him, as if it weighed nothing. He too trained on this, doing extensive weight training with the purpose of not bulking up, but to carry a weight effortlessly. One of his little secrets he was using, without Mirror being aware of it.

Not wasting any more time, he goes for Mirror again, who is quite taken aback at this speed. He is ready though and his own Lionheart bashes into Squalls. Their swords go up, down, up, down, left, right, various angles and forces boom from them. They both run around the room, circling each other, even though they aren't aware of it. Squall then spins, taking Mirror by surprise, he bashes his sword out the way and skewers his Lionheart into Mirrors right shoulder. Mirror calls out in agony, and quickly summons a spell with his left hand. Squall narrows his eyes and dives backwards as Mirror launches a Firaga at him. He dives out the way as it thunders into the wall. Mirror casts Cura and the wound closes.

"Enough of your shit Squall, die!" he yells, kicking up and grabbing his abandoned Hyperion. Squall goes for him without mercy; each blow he delivers is for Rinoa, for Garden, for everyone.

Mirror snarls and screams, mainly at Squalls attacks, but also at this stony silence Squall is maintaining. Both of his swords are blurs as they go for Squall, but Squall seems, no _is_ faster, as he blocks all of the attacks. Running backwards away from Squall, he speaks up.

"Good Squall, my, you _have_ improved."

"That's not all, asshole," he snarls. Mirror ignores the insult.

"Oh no?" he pants. Squall does not reply.

"You won't have time to do whatever it is you have Squall, like I said, I already know what you can do. And I am learning all the time. As a matter of fact, I am learning now, just by looking at you."

Squalls eyes narrow. _What did he mean by that?_

"But enough chat Squall. You are fast, let's see you keep up with… this…" his last word vanishes as purple haze envelops him. Squalls icy stare finally breaks and he readies himself as he hears Mirror utter one word:

"Haste."

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Time to see what you can really do, Mirror thinks Squall, casting Haste himself.

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(Floor 19)

The two of them stand; Gilned no longer seated, watching the large screen. He looks back at the figure just behind him. They too watch with a half-open mouth and wide eyes.

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Man, Squall must be good, if even they are amazed.

"This… is not Squall, it is as if Mirror is fighting someone else." They say. Gilned nods.

"How? Mirror learned everything from Squall… and he can't seem to copy him now. How?"

"I don't know. Every single move Squall can do was recorded in the SeeD dossiers I stole. There is nothing in that dossier that Mirror cannot do regarding Squalls fighting technique."

Gilned doesn't answer. He watches as two purple blurs collide with each other. The odd flash of gold, silver and blue is seen. A thud is heard on the floor.

"No way!" they both shout together.

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(Floor 18)

Squall and Mirror seem to vanish. The only presence being the odd rush of wind followed by a purple blur; Holes appear in the wall, the floor, the ceiling as the swords collide. The force and shockwave from the swords colliding race out and smash into various parts of the room. 

Mirror spins and ducks, thrusts and parries. He swings his blades in every direction, keeping his balance, dancing on the floor, the walls, all over the place, trying to hit the blur that was Squall. Squall is keeping up with him effortlessly, raining his own blows down on him. Though totally concentrated a small part of Mirrors mind begins to yell at him.

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How is he doing this! This is impossible!

Squall, like Irvine, sees the room as nothing but a blur of colour. Even though he has Haste on, he feels he is moving in slow motion. Also like Irvine, he is able to pick out the minutest of details. The most apparent being that Mirror is starting to make slight mistakes. Squall uses this, raining blows down on him. Mirror moves incredibly fast, leaping around the room, off the walls, off the floor. But Squall too trained like this, another little secret of his. Also there was yet another that Mirror did not know of. Because he trained to the point that his gunblade felt weightless in his hand, he was moving faster, thus he was able to keep up with Mirror. 

None of that mattered now though. It was helping yes, but only Mirrors death would be the reward for it all. He spins again, like a helicopter. Mirror yells as Lionheart is ripped from his hand and thuds into a wall. Mirror looks into his eyes once, then copies Squall instantly. 

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Wait, I didn't know he could do…

This is all he thinks of as a fist is smashed into his eye; Squall pelts across the room and rams into the wall. Still with one eye open, he times himself to duck under Mirrors sword at the last minute. He rams his head into Mirrors stomach and, coupled with the Haste, Mirror flies upwards, smashing into the ceiling and yelling loudly. Coming to, he levels Hyperion and fires at him. Squall dives out the way and feels his Haste start to wear off. Launching himself at Mirror then twisting at the last minute, his sword scythes through Mirrors right arm. With the same twist, he hammers a fist into Mirrors face. Sweat and blood flash out Mirrors face as he rattles to the floor with astounding force. Squall, not thinking, begins to summon an Ultima spell. Mirror groggily gets to his feet. Screaming, he throws his arms up as he is engulfed in a green cloud of energy. The blast rocks the room, throwing Squall all the way across the room and making him hit the floor. He shields himself with his arms as the explosion rocks the room. A blast of wind is heard as parts of the wall rips out. Then it all goes quiet for a brief moment.

Squall goes to cast a Cure spell, but suddenly Mirror flies out from the cloud of smoke. In one swing of his blade, he slices open Squalls left shoulder. Blood spurts out. Squall looks at it, but thanks Hyne, as had he moved a split second later, it would have been his head. But there was not time to think. He throws his sword over himself as Mirror bears down. Hyperion booms down onto his Lionheart: Mirror screaming as he presses down. Squalls eyes flicker wide as he sees a _crack _appearing in his Lionheart.

Chopping Mirror down with his legs, he swings up and attempts to split Mirror in two. This time the roles are reversed as Hyperion holds off Lionheart. Squall grimaces, his face no longer showing a blank look. He couldn't keep that up now. No more mind games. It was truly business now.

Mirror attempts to trip him, but Squall is one step ahead and dives back a bit. This is all Mirror needs as he flips to his feet. Squall is momentarily surprised by Mirrors agility, but is ready for him. Again, their swords clash at various degrees of strength, speed, and angles. Squall vaguely wonders how he is keeping this up. He has never fought at this intensity before, even Ultimecia herself was not _this_ hard…

Mirror thrusts low and Squall blocks it. They are absent-mindedly moving about the room. Thick smoke hangs overhead. There is a huge hole in the wall where Squalls Ultima spell hit. Actually, there was no wall.

Mirror gasps, still fighting Squall with all he had. His mind is split in two halves. One of exhilaration, as this is the fight he has always wanted, he has never fought anyone like this. 

But the other half is of fear and doubt, a he never thought anyone _could_ fight like he could. But then again, Squall was fighting himself. And no one knows you better than you yourself.

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Time to end this, with a few tricks of my own, he thinks. He registers a flash of silver on the floor. Moving the battle round, dictating the pace and direction, he lets Squall come at him. He breathers heavily too. The Haste has definitely taken its toll on him. They fight; the blows coming from Squall are getting faster, harder, stronger, more intense.

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A few more steps… come on! His mind screams.

Squall keeps up the pace, his mind too, is split in half.

One half want's to end this, he will destroy Mirror.

The other half seems to be screaming doubt at him. That he cannot beat him, he hasn't twice before. It took a Limit Break the first time, and the Garden crashing the second time. And even then, he lost the second time.

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Wait a minute… his mind thinks. 

He stops only briefly.

But it was too briefly.

In one fluid movement, Mirror kicks up Lionheart from the ground and stabs Squall through the chest; the sword drills through him just above his heart. But it is enough. Mirror pulls the blade out while kicking Squall in the stomach. Squall falls backwards and hits the floor. He lies there. Silent.

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(Floor 19)

There is silence as the two of them watch what has happened. They watch Squall hit the floor and not move. After a moment Gilned looks around at the other person.

"By Hyne… he did it."

They smile. Suddenly the smile vanishes; their face is lined with a frown.

"What is it?" asks Gilned.

Nothing more is heard as the TV screen suddenly explodes with power.

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(Floor 18)

Mirror looks down at the comatose body of Squall. Kicking him once, he observes the pool of blood pouring around him.

"Goodbye Squall. The best man won, I think" he pants. Turning, he begins to walk slowly away. Only to be frozen to the spot as a crackle of electricity causes his skin to break out in bumps. Turning around slowly, dreading what he is about to see.

"No…fucking…way" he gasps.

Squall stands there, hand over the wound. Lightning crackles around him. A soft yellow glow surrounds him. Mirror has seen this before, coming from Selphie, he also remembers seeing Squall do this when…

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NO! His mind screams. He levels his blades and goes for Squall. Squall grabs his Lionheart and spins around. Blood spurts from his wounds, but he does not seem to notice.

Mirror bashes into his sword. Power erupts from Squall and Mirror is blown off his feet. Getting back up, he charges again, but again he cannot seem to get near Squall. Squall backs up into a wall. Mirror smiles, leveling both Gunblades at him, fingers on the triggers.

"Squall, I don't give a shit about your fancy little light show. What I do give a shit about is the fact you just got up from what was a fatal wound. But that doesn't matter. Both these gunblades are loaded with Pulse ammo. So no matter where you run, they will destroy you."

Squall looks at him. His eyes, with a hint of sadness in them, glint menacingly. Lionheart shimmers in his right hand. Ignoring the pain, he raises his left arm, grabbing something off the wall.

A Hyperion gunblade. This one, black and shining, dark and menacing, somehow seems to stand out from his own blue Lionheart, and especially against the gold and silver blades that are Mirrors.

Mirror looks at him with a bemused expression. 

"Oh go on Squall, let's see what you can do. Got a trick up your sleeve I suppose?" He shuts up as Squalls eyes lock with his.

"Yes Mirror, I do." He says in a voice barely above a whisper, but Mirror hears every word.

"One last trick."

The energy crackles around him. Mirror spits out some blood. He levels his blades at him in a fighting position, abandoning the idea of shooting him.

"Come on then Squall, I'm ready for your stupid Renzokuken Limit Break."

Squall cocks his head slightly to his left. He mouths two words.

"Double Renzokuken."

Upon hearing these words, Mirrors eyes open in shock. Suddenly Squall is upon him, charging at him with a speed unknown. Mirror screams as, as one, he swings both gunblades at him. He aims his own swords to block it, but the velocity and speed of the blows cause him to stagger back with each hit.

Squall swings up once, both blades hit. He pulls out his Limit Break, if he manages the right amount of hits…

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The second hit, he swings both blades to his left. Mirrors arms jar with the assault.

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The third hit, he swings back. It looks like he is going very slowly, but they are actually going so fast that Mirror is lucky to react.

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The fourth hit, swings downwards. Mirror is wide open, but he is going on pure Limit now, the flow cannot be interrupted, and he _wants_ to go on.

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The fifth hit, it swings back up, clanging his blades right up. It hits with such a force that Mirrors arms and swords fly upwards. He manages to hold on to his swords.

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The sixth hit. This one goes straight for his heart. Mirror blocks it, but his own blades bang into him. He gasps.

Squall feels it building. _I've got it. Now it's time…_

The seventh hit. Burling both blades round, he wallops into Mirrors side. The blow would have cut anything else in two. But he manages to get the swords down in time. He sees one of Mirrors arms bend in a way it shouldn't have. He doesn't register anything. No noise apart from the swords colliding.

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Eighth hit. The last one. This one scythes down and batters into him. Crossing his swords over his head. Squalls weapons blast into them. His blades, on top of Mirrors, bash onto his skull. Mirrors eyes loll about in his head. Squall stops, and crosses his own swords behind him.

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It is time. Whether I survive this. I do not know. I guess we will find out. But if it kills Mirror, I will be satisfied. It will kill him.

He can hardly believe he is thinking this, but his wounds ache, blood flows, he is hurt, tired and sore.

"Mirror" he sputters. Mirror gets to his feet. He cannot run. The energy coming from Squalls Limit Break roots him to the spot. 

"The best man, is going to win. Me. This is for everyone you killed. May they destroy you in the afterlife."

"NO! NEVER!" screams Mirror. He does not hear Squalls next two words. Squall himself wonders if he can pull this off.

"Double Lionheart."

Energy crackles around him. How his body is holding together is beyond him. Everything goes dark. Only two things shine light. Himself and Mirror. Mirror, though frozen to the spot, suddenly ignites with power. His hair flies up and stands on end. He readies his swords. 

Squall races at him, gaining speed. Even though they are only a few feet apart, Squall is already a blur. 

He swings both blades in a circle, upon completing the circle, they hammer into Mirror and he goes flying upwards, screaming. Squall dives up after him.

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The first hit goes upwards, the next downwards, the next left, then right, then left, then down, then up, then left…

Mirror continues to scream as the blows hammer into his swords. Blocking them is useless now, but he tries all the same.

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Then right, then left, then down again…

Squall backs off. There is no gravity in this space in this Limit Break. He feels like he is standing on a floor, but he is not. He joins both blades together and charges them. A beautiful golden and white light builds up. He swings it left. The arc cuts through both of Mirrors blades. His scream grows louder as both his swords shatter in his hands, both falling in hundreds of pieces in a gold and silver rainfall. His scream is silenced as a huge explosion erupts and engulfs him.

The world comes back as Squall lands on his feet, then falls onto his back. He blacks out, but not before he hears the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor just in front of him...

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(Dream)

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Selphie spins at him, then stops, vanishes.

Irvine levels two guns at him, blasts boom from them. He vanishes.

Zell flips and dives around this space (?), then vanishes.

Seifers scream echoes through his mind as a crumbling noise is heard, like a wall collapsing.

It all goes black, then white. Rinoa smiles at him.

He walks through a meadow. The grass is a beautiful yellow sunshine colour, mixed with green. It feels gentle when he touches it… there is an old building nearby. A lighthouse stands at the end of a row of rocks.

Suddenly he is aware of a presence behind him. He turns around, and sees Rinoa standing there. Still wearing the same white dress as in his last dream. Her white wings unfurl and flap gently.

"Wake up Squall" she says.

Squall shakes his head.

"I'm dead. I couldn't contain the power of that Limit Break. I must be dead."

Rinoa shakes her head.

"No, you're not Squall. Wake up, it is not over yet."

"I want to stay here, with you," he says quietly. Rinoa walks up and kisses him.

"You're not alone Squall, trust me. We are all there."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

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(/Dream)

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(Floor 19)

Gilned watches as Prophecy glows slightly, their eyes closed.

"Prophecy?"

Prophecy stops and turns around to face him.

"When Squall gets here, tell him everything, then I will destroy him."

Gilneds eyes open in shock  
"No! He couldn't have! You must be-"

"Do it!" they yell, before disappearing.

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(Floor 18)

Squall wakes up, staring at the ceiling. Blinking a few times, he tries to sit up. Something hits him as he touches his body in various places.

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I'm… I'm healed! What?

He gets up to his feet. He is fully healed. His shoulder wounds is gone. The wound made by the Lionheart going through him is completely healed. He feels amazing. Strong and healthy.

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How did that happen-

He breaks off as he looks at the sight in front of him. Grabbing his Lionheart he dropped, he walks over to it.

Mirror lies there, on his back. His arms are splayed out at either side, so he resembles an X shape. Crouching over him, Squall realizes the truth.

Mirror is dead.

Squall crouches down, and slowly closes Mirrors eyes, as they were open, staring blankly out in shock. Squall goes to close his own eyes briefly, when something catches his eyes. A shape. He barely catches sight of it as the lift doors close. Getting up and looking down at the body of Mirror one last time, he walks off to the lift. It opens as soon as he reaches it. Something, he does not know what, is telling him to go to floor 19. Pressing the button, the doors close almost instantly. The lift goes up quicker than he thought and open. He barely has time to fathom about how he has been healed fully when he sees who is sitting at the end of the room, behind a desk in a large armchair.

President Gilned.

Squalls eyes narrow as he steps off the lift. His training, coupled with the fight with Mirror, has now given him a sixth sense to warn him of danger. There doesn't seem to be any as he slowly walks up to the desk. President Gilned is not smiling, nor does he speak. His face is set in a serious visage, watching Squall step over the remains of a TV monitor. His hands are clasped together in front of him. It was almost as if he was waiting for him.

Squall reaches the end of the desk and presses his Lionheart into Gilneds chest. Gilned flinches slightly.

"Give me one good reason why I should not kill you right now, Gilned," says Squall, with no emotion.

President Gilned shifts slightly. The point of the Lionheart is wicked sharp and scrapes into his suit. Trying to keep his voice calm, he answers Squalls question.

"Because then you will not learn the truth Squall."

"About what?" says Squall, his eyes narrowing.

"Everything. About me, about Mirror, everything."

Squall raises an eyebrow. "Why the hell should I believe you? Even though Mirror did it, you ordered him to kill my friends, including those at Garden. Your life is fuck all next to theirs. I have destroyed Mirror, I should destroy you."

Gilned nods at him.

"You will believe me Squall, because it's the least I can do before you kill me."

Squall hesitates. Not taking his blade away from him, he says, "Talk. I read your invite you sent personally, and followed the order to come here and destroy you and Mirror. So yeah, you're right, I am going to kill you. So it is the least you can do."

Gilned smiles. Squall presses further onto his chest. Suddenly Gilned starts laughing. 

"Squall, you truly think you were _ordered_ here? You think that you were told to _come_ here by your superiors?"

Squall looks at him uneasily. "What do you mean?" he asks. Gilned looks up at him, an evil glint in his eyes.

"You weren't _ordered_ here Squall, you were _lead _here, the letter was a front, knowing fine well that your higher-ups would send you."

"What's that supposed to mean? We were lead here?"

Gilned suddenly stops laughing. His voice is one of seriousness as he speaks.

"You have been played for a fool Squall, you and your friends. And this is the result. The death of almost all those you love, and the destruction of your Garden."

"No-ones been playing me for a fool."

"Oh no?" says Gilned, still not smiling. "I think you are wrong there Squall, and I will be more than happy to tell you why."

Squall feels an evil feeling spread through him as Gilned says this.

"Go on" he whispers. Gilned fixes his tie, then looks Squall dead in the eyes.

"There is a traitor inside your Garden Squall, and they have been manipulating, distracting and playing you for a fool since day one."

Squalls blood turns to ice. "Day one?"

"After, during and even _before_ you fought Ultimecia, Squall."

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(The next chapter will tell all folks! Reviews welcome, hope you liked the fight. Took ages with it. Craig)


	19. Real Eyes Realize Real Lies The First

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

A/N – This chapter tells all folks, and the one known as Prophecy is revealed. Read on to find out who…

****

Chapter 18 – Real Eyes Realize Real Lies – The First

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'…'

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(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 19)

Lightning flashes outside, illuminating the two figures that are there.

One sits in a large armchair, behind an equally large desk.

The other, stands at the other side of the desk, their right hand outstretched, a sword pointing at the man in the chairs heart. But President Gilned is not intimidated by Squalls sword. Even though it has blood on it. 

"Well Squall, I will tell you everything."

Squall does not flinch, nor even blink. His arm is rock steady, not even moving, as it continues to press slightly into Gilneds chest. Gilned lights up a cigarette, ignoring the fact that the person in front of him could kill him anytime.

"Who's the traitor?" he asks the President.

"In due time-" he grimaces as the sword presses harder into his chest. Gilned grimaces at him.

"I don't think you understand Squall. I am _willingly_ going to tell you everything, but I will tell you it in my order of telling. And you can't threaten me, because if you kill me, I cannot tell you everything."

Squall relaxes the blade slightly, though it is still pointing at his chest.

"Fine, then tell me who Mirror is, and where you found him."

Gilned nods. He takes a puff of his cigarette, then stubs it out in an ashtray. He looks out the window once, then back to Squall. The rain pounds the windows louder.

"That is the easiest question Squall, and simply put. I did not find him, as I have known him all my life, for he is my younger brother. His name is John."

Squall shows no emotion, but his mind struggles to register this. Gilned continues.

"When he was five, and I was eleven, my parents started realizing that something was different about him. He was like any other kid, but with a difference. We would have missed it if he did not do it so frequently."

He looks out the window again. Squall flicks his eyes to the window, but all he sees is rain. Gilneds voice brings him back to face the President.

"We found that, whatever we did, he would do. Now, it was only natural for the younger brother to copy his older sibling's actions. Things like walking, talking and eating, being the biggest ones. But what astounded us was the _way_ he did it. He copied it down to the minutest of details. One time I was playing football, and was playing keep-up. Next thing I know he was grabbing the ball and copying me, down to the flight path of the ball and everything. I had never shown him how to play keep-up."

"What can Mirror do?" asks Squall. He is getting a bit restless with this story. Something unpleasant was going to come out of it that was for sure.

"John went through school, as did I. My father was busy with work. My mother died when I was 13. Actually, she didn't die, she was assassinated. I still do not know who did it to this day."

"Why was she assassinated?" Squall asks.

"Because of who my father was. But that's not the point Squall. Let us fast-forward to approx. 6 months ago. When they came, and told John, exactly what he could do."

Squall wonders who 'they' could be, but he would ask that in a minute.

"What could he do?"

Gilned looks him square in the eyes. "He had a special form of Blue magic. And even then, it wasn't magic, more like a Blue Physical of sorts" he falls silent for a minute. 

"A Blue magic called 'Photographic Reflex'."

Squalls eyes narrow. _What the…_ he does not need to ask his next question, as Gilned answers it for him.

"John's magic, if you call it that, was the ability to copy anything that anyone did. Be it a simple thing like moving a box in a specific way. But then there was the big things…"

"Like peoples fighting techniques…"says Squall quietly. "Wait, how did Mirror 'copy' us? He never saw us until a while ago, when Seifer and me fought him on floor 20."

Gilned lights up another cigarette.

"He does not need to actually _see_ you. You see, it's not just visual, as in movement. He can copy still information too."

"Still information?"

"May I?" gestures Gilned, to a drawer on his left. Squall motions for him to open it, but presses his sword closer to Gilneds chest. Gilned opens it and produces a green folder. He turns it around and pushes it across the desk to Squall.

"Open it."

Squall looks down and opens it. 6 files are in the folder. Moving one at a time, he reads the names. Each one at the front embossed with the SeeD authorization stamp, and also the signatures of the people whom they belong to. His eyes open slightly as he reads the names.

Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmett, Zell Dincht, Seifer Almasy, and then… _Squall Leonhart_.

"Where did you get these?" he whispers. Gilneds face is straight.

"You didn't believe me about the traitor bit did you? Until you saw this."

"What has this got to do with still information?"

"Open any of the files, you'll see."

Squall opens Selphies file. Written in handwriting he recognized as Selphies, was her exact fighting moves. Stance, posture, movement, weapon details, magic details, everything. The only thing absent were descriptions of her Limit Breaks, although there was a space for that on one of the pages, but it was simply marked with a question mark. Squall thinks for a minute, then it hits him.

How Mirror learned how to fight like them.

"He can copy the moves from _text_?" 

Gilned nods. "Isn't it amazing, just by reading those dossiers, he learned in _half an hour_, what the six of you had been doing for _years_."

Squall is dumbfounded. He looks at his own dossier. These were _never_ to be read except by those who wrote in it, that person being himself. They existed for reference and also, if the SeeD allows it, for other teachers to study, should they need to learn to teach a class about that certain weapon.

"How did you get these?"

"Like I said, they were removed and brought to me."

"We would have known."

"Actually, they were removed when your little traitor realized that none of you had written in them after Ultimecia. Each dossier was marked at the back, meaning there was nothing else to be put in them."

Squall struggles to keep his face straight. _Only SeeD's and the Headmaster can get access to these, and only the Headmaster can get access to _all_ of them. _Gilned continues.

"Oh you have no idea Squall, the potential that came of Mirror after he read them, and started mastering them for real. I was already in politics, going for Presidency, after Deling was killed. I had the funds and campaign to go for it. And now, with this, winning was certain. I could use Mirror to threaten the others, tell them to back off. Mirror obliged, mainly because he was helping big brother, but also, thanks to another, he could be guaranteed to 'test' his moves out on those he acquired them from."

Squall is listening to every word Gilned says, but another word rings in his head.

__

Traitor.

"And that's what this tower is," says Squall. "A giant training center."

"And also labs" Gilned answers quickly. "That your friends Zell and Seifer were taken to."

"Why were they took there? To be tested on?"

Gilned frowns slightly. "Yes, and no. You see, we _did_ test on them, but they should not have been aware of it, thanks to the Forgetfulness Serum. But Seifer, as we found out almost to our cost, had somehow managed to block it out. Luckily for us he had not seen everything we could do."

"And the cells was where you kept them."

"Precisely."

Squall was about to ask whom the traitor was, but he asks something else. Something that flashed into his mind, as he suddenly remembers a meeting with Cid about. Something Seifer told him.

"You wanted to claim vengeance for your father. Who was he?"

Gilneds face is serious.

"I know this may sound ridiculous Squall, but my father was Vinzer Deling."

Squalls eyes widen in shock.

"That's impossible."

"Is it?" he says. He gets out a pen and writes on a piece of paper. Squall looks at it as Gilned speaks. The piece of paper has two words on it. Gilned speaks in a whisper.

GILNED

DELING

"They would never have let me run for office if they found out I was my fathers son. So I merely made an anagram of my second name, and Mirror threatened to destroy anyone who talked. Mirrors influence by this time was amazing. He could talk anyone into anything, just by his presence."

"Well it looks like you got your wish. Except me, everyone is dead."

"Actually Squall, I was not interested in you or your friends. The person whom I am going to kill, hasn't played a role in any of this."

Squall watches him. Face unreadable.

"Who?"

"Sorceress Edea. She killed my father Squall. That's all I wanted. Mirror wanted to _fight_ you. The other wanted you all dead. I just wanted Edea dead, for killing my father. You have no idea Squall, what it feels like, standing in that crowd, watching your father being destroyed."

Squall looks into Gilneds eyes. Every part of him tells him he is not lying. It was hard enough believing him that's Vinzer Deling was his father. But now, after this. It was all fitting together now… 

"I know where she is Squall, and I will kill her. By my own hand or not, vengeance will be mine."

Squall presses a little further into his chest.

"It sure as fuck isn't going to be you yourself, that's for sure. And I will stop anyone who goes near her."

Gilned smiles up at him, an evil glint flashes in his eyes.

"It is time Squall, for me to tell you who I mean by the 'other', who wants you all dead."

Squalls eyes narrow to slits. Gilned maintains his smile.

"I have not lied to you in any of this Squall, and I'm sure you know this, as it is all coming together. I had Mirror yes, but _I_ did not discover his talent. I saw he was different, but did not see in what way, until it was revealed. _I _did not steal those dossiers from Garden. _I_ did not send the letter that made you all come here, to your deaths. I signed it, yes, but I did not plan it."

Squall remains silent. The grin on Gilneds face is wider now.

"I had a plan, oh yes, for what I was going to do when I got power here. But it was _them_ who came to me, discovering Mirrors talent; it was _them_ that ordered this tower to be built. It was _them _who had done everything that lead up to this. I had helped and ordered yes, but _they_ planned it all. I agreed because simply put, they promised me Edea. And they have, by telling me her whereabouts. Also I have already repaid my debt, by helping them get you here, and by building this fine establishment."

Squall says nothing and does nothing. He is like a statue. Suddenly Gilned slowly gets up.

"Sit down" orders Squall. Gilned ignores him.

"One last thing. I do not even know their name. I was to address them as 'Prophecy'. I don't know why, but to me, it _was_ a prophecy, because everything I wanted has, or is going to come true."

He gestures with his hand over Squalls shoulder, as a noise is heard, like something just popping into the room out of thin air. The rain outside goes quiet as a soft thump on the floor, indicating that someone is there.

Squall turns around, and sets eyes on them. What he sees causes his blood to go cold. His eyes go wide, his mouth opens. 

Not in a million years would he ever see this person standing here, as an _enemy_, not a friend.

They stand there, in a dress of orange. In one hand she held a gold whip, coiled elegantly in her slender fingers. Her hair, still the same colour as it was in her youth, like mid-day sunshine, was clipped to the back of her head. Two loose strands hugged her cheeks and came to a curling end just above her breast. Her vest contemplated her figure as it hugged the slim curve of her waist, opening just above her stomach for a glimpse of her flat midsection. Around her arms were a pair of tight leather gloves the colour of polished mahogany.

"Hello, Squall," says Quistis Trepe.

(Reviews welcome, thank you. Craig)

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	20. P R 0 P H 3 C Y

****

BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)

A/N – Fairly large chapter, hold on to your hats folks! Things are going to get interesting…

****

Chapter 19 – P R 0 P H 3 C Y

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'Let's all make believe, that we're still friends and we like each other' – Oasis (Let's all Make Believe)

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(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 19)

Squall says nothing, does nothing, except turn around slowly, very slowly, to face her.

__

Quistis?

Quistis stands there, also doing nothing. Her face is stern, straight, and impassive.

President Gilned walks behind Quistis, then turns back. Facing Squall.

"I think you're going to see why I willingly told you everything Squall. Goodbye." He leaves through the elevator. The doors close. Now it was just the 2 of them, alone.

The rain seems to have died.

"Aren't you going to say something? Or are we just going to stand here all night?" she asks him.

Squalls face is one of confusion, Quistis sniggers.

"Oh please Squall, I am amused at your face right now, so you are human after all, never before have I ever seen you at a loss for words, or unable to think of something. Oh very well, I'll answer your unasked question, and that is yes, I am the traitor/mole/whatever."

Squall simply shakes his head slightly. "No…"

"Oh but yes" she says, walking silently back and forth across the room, Squall turning to face her all the time. "It's very much yes." Her face is now deadly serious. Squall shakes his head and suddenly becomes angry.

"Why?" he whispers. Quistis snarls at him.

"Why? WHY?" she yells, "I'll tell you fucking why. Simply put Squall, I was sick to the back teeth of _you lot_, of your stupid little romances, of your idiotic ideas that Garden was the greatest, that you were the best fighter in the world. You were the hero. I fucking hated _you_, I fucking hated _them, _and I fucking hated _her_."

Squall snarls back "What the hell are you on about? You were part of the team, part of all of this, bringing down Ultimecia, you were a valuable asset!"

Quistis waves her hand "not her, she was a bitch yes, but hell, at least she never got pissed about, like me!"

"Like you?"

"You genuinely are stupid Squall. What do you think?"

Squall says nothing, the hand holding his gunblade trembles, balling his other hand into a fist…

"Did you kill my friends?"

Quistis stops and stares at him. "Yes Squall, I did. Only 2 of them personally though."

Squall looks up at her, his head shaking in a no fashion. "Only 2 of them?"

Quistis smirks, "yes, Seifer, and Rinoa. Oh you had no idea how much I enjoyed killing _her_, the cow."

Squall whirls his blade up in a flash, aiming for Quistis' throat, she smirks and vanishes, reappearing sitting behind the desk. Squall wheels round.

"Don't try that again, I could do that all day if need be."

Squall lowers his sword. He decides it's best to keep her talking while trying to figure out a strategy…

"Why do you hate me?"

Quistis face goes from angry to sad in an instant, then to sternness again. In a soft voice, she says a single sentence.

"Because Squall, you never took the time to know me, to see what was there."

"Explain, if you want to."

Quistis leans back in the chair. "You see Squall, ever since childhood, when I looked after you in that orphanage alongside Ellone, I used to think we would get married and stuff. Childish things yes, hell, I was only 8, but then I came to Garden, after leaving my foster home, and then I saw you. I was 13 Squall, SeeD at 15, then Instructor at 16. I was thrilled when I realized I would be teaching you. I thought 'there you go, he will recognize you now.'

Squall says nothing.

"You know how I said that it was feelings as a 'big sister' that lingered? I was lying Squall, lying to myself and to you. But then something happened. Something I didn't bet on."

Squall guessed what was coming.

"_She_ came, Rinoa. I didn't think much of her, just a pretty little girl needing help. I was biding my time, even after you gave me the cold shoulder at the Training Center, I kept waiting, I thought 'stick by him, get conversation going with him, he'll come out of his shell. I _loved_ him enough to wait."

She sighs. "But you didn't. Then Rinoa came along, and she managed to get you talking, she managed to get you to open up, and your antics in space were the last straw. I heard enough of that shit from Rinoa to finally realize that you were no longer going to be mine."

"That's why you hate Rinoa, isn't it?"

Quistis' eyes narrow. Squall makes a mental note that Rinoas name seems to annoy her.

"Like I said, you have no idea how much fun I had killing her."

Squall grits his teeth against the slur. "Is that is all this is, Quistis? A fucking jealousy thing?"

Quistis sniggers. "No Squall, it's a hate thing. You think you were the only thing I wanted rid of? As well as Rinoa? No, I wanted the Garden to fall too. I wanted to see it burn."

"Why the Garden? If it was just us you were after, why not just us?

"I lost you, more or less, on the same day I lost my Instructor license. So I owed them. They also said I would never get the chance to get it back. You think it would be a small price to pay, wouldn't it? Defeat the strongest Sorceress in the Universe, get my old license back, not much to ask."

Squall looks at her, eyes narrow.

"So after the Training Center business, I had nothing to do when you left for Timber. I went into the library, day after day after day, just poring over books, then… I found something… A book, which could teach me how to sense people, kind of like telepathy you know? I thought it was all mumbo-jumbo pass the time stuff. But upon reading the book, I was suddenly aware that magic had opened up in me that I never knew I had."

She draws her finger along the table absent-mindedly; a small glow trail is left. She continues.

"I sensed a huge power from someone, actually, I sensed thousands. It was like having Scan permanently implanted in me. Just by looking from my room, I found him…

"Mirror." Squall whispers. Quistis smiles.

"Yes. I looked at his magic and saw what he could do. I turned to catch a train when suddenly I used the Scan on myself, to check my stats were ok, and guess what I found?"

She suddenly vanishes and reappears at the other end of the room. Then vanishes again, appearing back in the seat. As if she had never left.

"I had read this ridiculous ability on teleportation, and it turns out only Blue magic users can do it. And I'm a Blue magic user."

Squall looks at her, wearing a grin the size of a billboard on her face

"So you went to Deling, and met President Gilned."

"Yes, then I met Mirror. I went up to him and told him directly what he could do, then we started planning…"

Squall cuts her off. "Before Ultimecia! You were planning Gardens downfall before it!"

Quistis nods her head.

Squalls anger rises, but he composes himself. Quistis' grin fades.

"Squall, I just wanted to destroy the faculty, the assholes who sacked me, and I thought I could use Mirror to do it, thereby getting me my payback and no-one knowing it was me."

Squall looks away, disgusted.

"Oh fine Squall, let's fast forward to now Eh? Or rather, 6 ½ months ago, when I decided that after everything that has happened, I would end it. I hated Rinoa and never wanted to harm you, but now I figured why not? Hurt you for ignoring me."

Squalls eyes stare into hers as she speaks, his anger still rising.

"You stole the documents didn't you? From Cid's office?"

Quistis nods. "Too right, it was easy. By then, I had power no one could have imagined. I simply ripped the doors off and got inside. I could then re-attach the doors, looking as if nothing had happened. I took the folders to Deling, where the tower was being built, and I let Mirror read them and learn, as proof of what he could do, then I saw him train… He was amazing. I knew right there and then, that he would destroy you, therefor again, leaving me in the clear. I could fight him yes, but we would make it look like he had killed me, then I would simply get up, feign I survived, and carried on, without you lot."

She laughs, it cuts through Squall.

"And he has succeeded, apart from you. You are a problem, aren't you? Even _I_ was amazed at your fight with Mirror. You defeated him, it was incredible."

Squalls head all but spins with this information, his mind still trying to come to terms with the fact that one of his supposed friends had been responsible for the death of all his other friends, and the woman he loved.

"Something went wrong though," says Quistis, bringing Squall out of his thoughts.

"I survived, right?" he spits. Quistis shakes her head.

"The plan went awry. Mirror storming the Garden like that, we were meant to bring you to the location I said, the Deep-Sea Research Center, you were to be killed there. But Mirror always lacked patience, and it almost cost me. Hyne, it almost cost _him_, when he came face to face with the Sorceress. A person I knew he would never be able to take."

Squall smirks slightly. "Too right, Rinoa kicked the shit out of him."

Quistis snarls again. Squall smiles inwardly.

"Yes, she did, but then she came up against me…"

Squall growls at her, spitting on the desk.

"You killed her, no way, you would have to have had help, she would have taken you anyday."

Quistis suddenly gets up and teleports to the bookshelf on the right. Turning round slightly to face him she purrs at him.

"You're right Squall, until 3 months ago, that is."

Squall says nothing. Quistis fingers the books lovingly with a finger.

"You see, again, a sign of you ignoring me, you never did ask what I could do, did you?"

"In terms of what?" asks Squall.

"In terms of Blue Magic. I have a Blue called 'Monster Object Identifier Blue', which is what you have seen me use before. I need an item to look at belonging to a specific monster to learn it."

"So?"

"So, you idiot, you never did ask what I was doing after Ultimecia, apart from plotting your demise."

"Like I care?"

Quistis turns to face him, deadly serious. Red lightning suddenly crackles about her. Her voice is distorted slightly as she speaks.

"Yes, you should have. By then I had read hundreds of books concerning Blues. Then I found one, a very very old book, concerning a group of people called 'Prophecies'."

__

That's what Gilned was talking about, calling her Prophecy…

"It turned out that certain Blue magic users could become a Prophecy, depending on what magic they had, and what level they were at. Well, as you know Squall, I am at Lv100, like you. And I had learned all my Monster Blues, and oh yes…" her face grew excited, "there was one in particular I had… and when I read up on it… I realized where I had seen it from, and why I had it."

"Seen it from?" asks Squall. A horrible feeling was seeping into his stomach. He was thinking something rather unpleasant, but at the same time, possibly true. He had seen her use it only once, against a Red Dragon…

"_I_ am a Prophecy Squall, and the more common name for Prophecies these days are Guardian Forces."

Squall stepped back a bit. "Impossible! How can you be a GF?"

Easy, a book I read told me, and like I said, I have a Blue that not only have you _seen _before, you have _experienced _before…"

She begins to glow brighter. Squall swings his blade up in a ready stance. Quistis laughs, her voice rumbling.

"It taught me all I needed to know, and I mastered it about a month ago, out training by myself. You're about to see why your precious bitch Rinoa lost!"

She glows more brightly, turning a red colour, like the colour of blood. Suddenly 2 huge red wings sprout from her back. Unlike Rinoas beautiful white angel wings, these are an evil jagged shape, crimson colored. Quistis looks him dead in the eyes, hers glowing yellow.

"That's it Squall, remember where you have experienced this before, before I destroy you by it…"

Squall steps back again slightly, then it hits him.

The magic she had… her final Blue attack.

He suddenly remembers a book, a book Selphie had…

Suddenly an ear splitting roar fills the room. Squall can only look up in horror as a huge black shape dominates the room, crashing a hole in the ceiling with its powerful head. 

A lion-beast stands there, red horns formed on its head to form a natural headdress. Two wicked sharp claws adorn the elbows of the beast. Huge feline feet stomp on the ground, long sharp tail swishing back and forth. It crouches slightly, looking at Squall.

"Now you know what a Prophecy is, Squall. Now you know what I am, I can no longer let you live."

Squall thinks nothing, sees nothing as a huge black fist rams into him, lifting him up, and smashing him through the ceiling up onto floor 20. He sprawls onto his back.

Squall spits out blood as the beast jumps up through the hole, floor booming as it lands. It crouches again as Squall struggles to his feet and backs off. The beast growls slightly.

"Very cramped in here. Let's rectify that."

It roars and raises its arms. The roof suddenly blows off and explodes in the air. The entire building is rocked to its foundation. Rain now begins to pour in. Squall can barely stand.

"Griever… Shockwave Pulsar… Quistis…"

Griever smiles a huge grin, before beginning to glow. Suddenly it transforms back into Quistis. She stands there, the rain pelting down on her.

"Like what you see Squall, now you know, like I said."

Squall is wanting to rush her, but finds he can't. Looking down, he sees blood, and feels a lot of broken ribs. He breathes irregularly. And even if he could, she would just teleport away.

"Feeling a bit woozy Squall, don't worry, it'll be over soon" she purrs. She walks up to him slowly. Raising her hand, she knocks him down. Standing over him, she crouches down with a look of concern and sadness on her face.

"Poor Squall, you see what this has lead to? This is your entire fault. All you had to do, was love me, like I love you."

Squall moves his head away as she strokes his cheek. She kisses him slightly.

"What's that? I thought you said something,"

Squall smiles at her, puzzling her.

"I do, and it's this, Rinoa was 10 times the woman you'll ever be."

Quistis snarls and gets up, raising her hand, Squall suddenly lifts off the ground and slams into it. Holding him by his shirtfront, she holds up her left hand. A ring adorns her wedding finger.

"Recognize this Squall?" She says menacingly. Squalls eyes widen at it.

__

The Griever ring. Quistis can tell that he recognizes it.

"That's right, I took it from her, right before I blew her away. I would have taken the other one, but it was a useless bit of metal. You see Squall, when I read the same book telling me about the Prophecies, there was a picture of this ring there, and all I needed to do was acquire it, that way I could harness the power of Griever, without staying that way. I didn't stay that way before because I was too weak. Rinoa gave me a fright oh yes, but I won, and now look, I have your ring, and… oh, you have the other. I think I'll take it after I kill you, and wear it also, a fitting insult to the memory of that dead co…"

She is suddenly cut off as a huge explosion rams into her from behind. Her and Squall are both sent flying along the ground, skidding short of the edge.

"Wha?" stammers Quistis. She flips up and wheels round.

To be greeted by the sight of Sorceress Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine and Seifer.

"What in Hyne?" she yells teleporting away from the next blast that comes her way. She reappears behind them; Selphie and Zell run towards Squall. Seifer, Rinoa and Irvine all stand in front of her. Quistis is quite clearly shocked.

"How?"

"Hi, bitch, remember me?" snarls Rinoa. She suddenly leaps up. Crossing her arms over her chest, two huge angel wings fly out of her back. Lightning crackles around her as she lands.

Quistis snarls at her. "I don't know how you did it, but you won't be alive after this to tell me!"

"You won't be alive after this to hear it, you loser," says Rinoa. Seifer and Irvine step back towards Selphie and Zell, who has Squall over his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're taking him? I still have to destroy him… oh well, to hell with this; I'll just kill you all at once. You first, Sorceress. I shall take great pride in doing it again!"

Rinoa suddenly throws out her hand, but not at Quistis, at behind her, the blast suddenly stops short of Selphie. It breaks up, suddenly forming a web around them.

"You're not the only one who can do that you know."

"Do what?" snarls Quistis.

"This" Rinoa says simply, and snaps her fingers. The entire party disappears under the web. Quistis looks shocked at the disappearance.

"No!"

Rinoa shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm the Sorceress, so I think that's a yes actually."

Quistis grits her teeth. "I will find them Sorceress, you know that."

"No you won't Quistis," says Rinoa sadly. "No you won't."

"You going to stop me?"

Rinoas eyes glow brighter.

"Yes, I am. Even with your power."

"So be it, Angel Wing." Says Quistis, crossing her arms over her chest. The blood red wings appear again. Burning with fire this time, her eyes are also red.

__

(Squall – Timber)

Squalls eyes blink open, to be greeted by the faces of Selphie, Zell, Irvine and Seifer.

"Am I dead?" he whispers. He recalls seeing Quistis, and a ring…

"No, you're alive Squall, as are we" says Selphie cheerily. "We all are."

Squall sits up so fast that he almost falls off the bed.

"What? How? Where am I?"

"Settle down man!" says Seifer quickly. "We'll tell you everything…"

__

(*Flashback 1 – Floor 13)

The lights flick out as the lift goes up. Suddenly a white glow appears in the room. A woman, with angel wings that quickly disappear, appears in the room, crouching over Selphie. She checks that her body is still warm. It is, after dying only minutes before, she quickly casts Full-life on her. Selphie splutters and opens her eyes; there is no light save for the glow from Rinoa.

"What happened?"

"You died, but I brought you back."

"I thought you were dead."

"I was, kind of, but I barely survived, I was flung for miles through the countryside, and crashed on top of some mountains. I came to a few hours later and stayed hidden until my strength came back. Because Squall is my Knight, I was linked to him, and I followed you here. I am sorry I couldn't help earlier, but I need to know, like you, who are behind this.

"You know who?" asks Selphie. A huge number of bangs can be heard from above.

"Yes, and it isn't pleasant. Touch my arm, I can transport us out of here, then I can tell you everything.

(/Flashback*)

(**Flashback 2 – Outside the tower)

Seifer wakes up, healed fully, Rinoa places a hand on his chest.

"Relax Seifer, I am going to tell you everything."

"I though you were dead."

"That's the 4th time I have heard that today."

"Where's Quistis? Isn't she here?"

"No, Seifer, she's not, because I think she was the one responsible for this."

"How?" asks Irvine.

"I felt it."

"Where's Squall?" splutters Seifer, the rain hitting him hard. Rinoa looks up, her eyes a pale green.

"Fighting Mirror, as we speak."

"We got to get up there!" Seifer says, jumping to his feet. Rinoa forces him to stop.

"No! He can do it, we need to regroup, I'll heal Squall then we can see what the deal is!"

"When do we make our move?"

" Asks Zell.

"As soon as we can… Zell, as soon as we can."

(/Flashback**)

Squall sits there and listens. He shakes his head.

"So, you were all ok, all the time?"

They all smile as one. Squall can't help but laugh. "Rinoa! That's my gir…" he cuts off.

"Where is she?"

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(The Tower Of Deling City – Floor 20)

Rinoa wings glow brighter, illuminating the rain, the floor, everything around her. 

Quistis wings glow the colour of fire, emanating heat. Rain hissing as it connects.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Sorceress, and don't worry, Squall will be joining you in the afterlife. I promise."

"You're a bitch Quistis, you know that?"

Nothing more is said as the suddenly fly for each other. Taking off from a standing point at almost the speed of sound. Both raise a hand as they prepare a spell. The spells collide together in such a force that the shockwave races down the tower. Everything made of glass explodes, shattering outwards almost in slow motion. A huge white pillar bangs from above.

Rinoa watches Quistis teleport away, scanning quickly she sees her above. Quistis crosses her palms over each other and lets rip. It starts out small, then stops, draws a circle in mid air, then blasts down about 5 times as large as it was. Rinoa watches it come. Her powers analyzing the spell and it's force.

__

By Hyne it's massive…

She throws her hands out and creates a huge silver shield. The shield catches the spell, sucking it in. Rinoa flicks her fingers and the spell bounces back off it, straight up at Quistis, as if the spell had hit a trampoline. Quistis simply teleports away, but not before having to activate a Shell as soon as she appears, the orange flashes violently as the Flare hits her. Standing where she is, she allows the spell to hit. It rockets into her and makes her go flying. She spins in mid air and stops. 

Spotting Rinoa just in front of the tower, she blasts an Ultima at her. It smashes into Rinoa and the tower. The tower finally caves into the onslaught it has had from inside and outside, and collapses halfway up, floors 15-20 crumbling like a sandcastle. Screams are heard from below as people flee for their lives.

__

That spell engulfed her, she must be dead!

She feels a sharp pain as Rinoa suddenly slams into her; Quistis spins round but can't quite stop herself from careening into the Presidential Palace. An explosion rocks her being as some of that building is leveled. Shaking slightly, she watches as Rinoa floats down to her level, facing her. Lightning crackles around her.

"How! I saw that Ultima ram right into you!"

Rinoa smirks. "After image, and here I though you were powerful…"

Quistis snarls. "Enough Rinoa! I hate you! It's time!"

"You only hate me because Squall fell in love with me! Would you be doing this is he fell in love with you?"

Quistis was about to blast something at her, but she lowers her arms. The rain seems to go quiet as she speaks.

"No, I wouldn't have done this."

"Then why?"

"It doesn't matter! Now die Sorceress!"

Rinoa could have seen she saw tears in Quistis eyes, but that thought is suddenly wiped out as a huge red glow engulfs Quistis. There is a flash, and Rinoa comes face to face with a huge, 9-foot tall lion beast.

__

Griever! That's what I fought… Quistis is Griever?!?

"Let's see how a Sorceress does against a Prophecy, shall we?" It roars.

Rinoa suddenly dives out the way as Griever rushes her, its speed triple that of Quistis. She barely dodges as it comes at her again. Teleporting out the way the third time, Rinoa is caught off balance. She flies a shield up as a huge black fist collides into her, the fist smashes into the shield, but not before Rinoa is rocked to her core by it. She flies backwards and stops a fair bit away from Griever.

__

How the Hyne do I beat this? No wonder I was defeated, I'm lucky to have lived….

Griever appears out of nowhere and charges a Flare spell, the speed it builds up is astonishing, in a matter of seconds it is already roughly 15 times the size of Griever itself.

Rinoa closes her eyes. Allowing the power to take over her. Holding up her hands, her wings glow a spectacular white.

"Die Sorceress! Say hi to Hyne for me!"

Griever throws the spell. Rinoas eyes are no longer the yellow, they are pure white. They glow of their own accord. Suddenly they fire out, like lasers, as do her fingers, as do her wings. They criss-cross in front of her, making a massive net like shield. The Flare connects with it. The net bends inwards very quickly, but then steadies itself. She can feel Griever pushing it with its mind.

Rinoa screams a death scream and begins to push back. She also hears screams from below as Galbadian citizens scream in panic and fear. Some of them are even calling on her _cheering_, urging her on to push it back…

She screams again; the Flare is becoming unbearable. Griever is concentrating with all its might to push it down. Her wings are actually beginning to burn her as they glow brighter. Rinoa focuses on the net. It begins to take a bit of shape, starting to move upwards…

She senses something, something coming.

She smiles at herself, and begins to push back slowly; she only needed a small distraction…

Griever roars with all its might, the Flare spell enveloping the white net that the Sorceress had created.

__

I have the power

I have the mind

I can do this

It thinks these thoughts over and over again. It won the last time; it will win this time. It detects that the Sorceress is using almost all her mind to keep this at bay, it decides to go the full haul…

A huge explosion rocks it to its core. It drops its hands and looks as a huge red dragon ship fires a series of missiles at it. Grievers' eyes widen in shock as they come at it. It swats them away, the explosions doing nothing to the shield it has up.

__

(Ragnarok)

Selphie pilots the ship with expertise, dodging the beasts attacks as it goes after them, almost crashing into the Flare that Rinoa was keeping at bay. Squall and Seifer are manning the missile launchers, Irvine in the co-pilot seat, Zell manning the machine guns.

"That's it, just keep at it!" shouts Seifer. He quickly nods to Squall. Squall nods back.

__

Rinoa… he thinks_. I have an idea._

__

(Rinoa)

Rinoa hears him, and understands. She can't see anything with this huge orange and white thing in front of her, but she has to trust her instincts that they will get away…

Sensing Griever is busy with the Ragnarok, she uses her entire power and might to push the Flare back. Her net shield spell envelops the Flare in a huge white ball and fires it straight at Griever.

Griever stops firing spells at the Ragnarok as it is aware something is coming, something huge. It looks to its left…

Before being engulfed in a huge white ball of light, smashing into it, enveloping it. 

Griever crosses its arms, before the huge ball explodes, illuminating the sky. A white ring flies out from it, smashing into the Ragnarok. The ship spins wildly before regaining level base. A figure dives out of it with a parachute on, opening the parachute, the figure caches the angel winged girl before she hits the ground.

People race to see them, a boy with a scar on his face, rain soaking him, looking down at the girl with the white wings, which vanish into her back.

"We got her Squall. I know this, there isn't a trace of her left."

"You are sure?"

"I can't sense her anywhere, unless she disappeared underground, she's gone. But no-one would have survived that, not even me."

He smiles and kisses her, casting a Cura on her, before she falls asleep. The rain not bothering him one bit.

__

(2 days later)

Squall looks out of the window of Balamb hotel, the sun shining down on him. He stretches, then winces. Even though magic was used to heal him and everyone else, he still winced in pain. Some things magic can't heal.

He thinks about Quistis and her reasons why she did it. She hated him, Rinoa, Garden, everyone. 

Whereas part of him had not condoned her actions, part of him was saying she was _right_. She had been dumped by the Garden, had been ignored by him, had every right to be jealous. Of him and Rinoa, of Selphie and Irvine, of Zell and Anya, his library girlfriend. Seifer? I doubt that.

His thoughts travel to the book that he and Selphie had seen in the Ragnarok. Now he had a good look at it, it was true everything Quistis had read and said.

GF's were known as 'Prophecies', more or less Gods of power, if the correct person was found, and the correct ritual performed.

Quistis ultimate Blue attack was Shockwave Pulsar, the maneuver that Griever used against them against Ultimecia…

__

Ultimecia? Griever? No…

Squall shook that thought from his head. Griever was no more. So how does that work out?

He feels 2 arms wrap around his waist. A face buries itself into his back, then turns him around.

"Squall?"

Squall looks down at her. "Hmm?"

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Squall doesn't snap, or say anything. He closes his eyes and nods. "Yes, I am."

"She chose that path Squall, you know that."

"Do you think she could have seen sense? I would…have forgiven her you know."

Rinoa strokes his cheek.

"I know you would have. I would have too hun."


	21. Epilogue : 7 Years Luck

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BREAKING THE MIRROR

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Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…

****

Epilogue – 7 Years Luck,

Footsteps echo down the black dark corridor, the tunneling was none too good, but it served its purpose.

A man with a fine crisp suit on walks the length of this corridor, despite the mud squelching under his feet onto his highly polished shoes. Lighting a cigarette with his lighter, it illuminates his handsome face.

He stops and touches what appears to be a wall. A section of the wall lifts up to reveal a transporter. Similar to the ones used in Esthar. The design for that was stolen too.

The lifter hastily makes its way down a long narrow corridor, no bends, no turns; the tunnel was dug exactly straight for this reason. The lifter gathers speeds: the orange and purple shield keeping the wind out.

After what seemed like an eternity, it stops. The man leaves the lifter, brushes his suit, puts out his cigarette and palms a part of the wall. It lights up and opens, allowing him access.

Walking up a flight of stairs, he is smartly saluted by 2 high ranking soldiers, who join him on his walk. Reaching the top of a flight of stairs, he opens the door.

Walking through the door, he walks into a small room, gets scanned once over by a device of sorts, and then walks into an observatory deck. Only one other person stands there. Their arm is in a sling; their hair is up in a ponytail. A black eye is blooming spectacularly on the left side of their face.

The room is in darkness. Where a window is, there is a black shutter. But the other person seems not to notice, as if they can see through it.

"You feeling better?" he asks. 

"Still rough, I…"

The man pats their shoulder. "Hey, no worries. I think you did amazing. It's a bit of a git that they are all back."

"I should have sensed her, the bitch. I could have, if I wasn't too busy seeing the carnage happen in front of me."

"Hey, how were we to know that she was that powerful? I mean come on; she kicked the shit out or Mirror. She's the most powerful person they have."

"What about Squall? He killed Mirror."

The man says nothing for a moment.

"He is tied to her, as you said. I think if we take her out, then him, we should be fine."

"It will take a lot to take them out, especially if they are together."

The man smiles. "I know, Madame Prophecy, I know. And a lot is what we have," he says, pressing a button on a remote. The shutter opens, revealing a glass window. They look down into a huge open room, is stretches on what seems like forever. The farthest away wall is very small from where they stand.

"It's amazing Mr. Gilned, you have been doing this…"

"Since the tests were completed. They have all had a shot of the serum."

She looks down at them; all of them are practicing, copying fighting techniques that 6 well-known SeeDs are famous for using. Techniques involving 2 gunblades, a gun, a flail, a whip and fighting gloves… Hyne knows how many there re there, all practicing the exact same way.

"Even me," they say, "still, good idea, there are other whip users."

"There is, Madame Prophecy."

She smiles. Looking down at her good arm, to her hand, she sees it. Platinum ring, with a picture of a lion head, forever frozen in silent roar. It glistens under the lights.

"Please, call me Quistis."

All done folks! I'll be scribbling away at the sequel as soon as, it will be a corker, I promise! Thank you for all your reviews. Much appreciated. Craig :-)


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